Pork barrel in Türkiye: Distributive politics in the allocation of public investments into Turkish electorates

Abstract

We investigate the political factors involved in the allocation of public investments into Turkish electoral districts. Using a unique data set covering detailed individual characteristics of approximately 2000 Turkish MPs over five legislative periods during 1987–2004, we show that the composition of several legislator characteristics in an electorate, such as the level of education, area of tertiary degree, and former profession, matters in the way pork barrel occurs across electorates. The findings also indicate a strong presence of partisan motivations and targeted support for opposition groups and ideological strongholds in public investment allocations. We also document evidence that a stronger right-wing tendency in the cabinet, a single-party government, fractionalized voter preferences, and higher voter turnout in the electorate are all associated with increased public investments into specific geographic constituencies.