Inframunicipalism and clientelism. Approaches to the phenomenon based on its related practices

Abstract

This article maintains that, from the institutionalist perspective, the characteristics of a political system and the local public administration condition the development of clientelistic practices. This research aims to shed light on the controversial relationship between vote buying and the district`s size in Spain as well as to prove how the population size has implications beyond the financial and administrative dimension. In this sense, the objective is to introduce to the debate the effects of inframunicipalism on the quality of democracy. Toward that end, some practices associated with clientelism are identified that are related to the size of the habitat in a series of surveys by the Center for Sociological Research (CIS). Thus, regression techniques have been used to determine what these practices are and what impact they have. The main finding emphasizes that the likelihood of clientelistic relationships (measured by several indicators) increases as the size of the habitat decreases.