Public spending and budget cycles in the italian regions:an empirical analysis

This paper focuses on the issue of the electoral and ideological cycles in local government budget for the Italian regions over the period 1996-2006. We verify theses hypotheses for the following budgetary variables: total expenditures, administration, health, housing, culture and education, viability and transport and social services. The effect of the upcoming election on the government spending inclinations turns out to be relevant only for total expenditure. The ideology does not play a systematic role in spending decisions (with the exception of health) while sharing a common ideology between the national and regional governments affects public spending.