Local Responses to a Global Crisis: Public Service Delivery after Migrant Influx

• In Event: Migration Shocks: Bureaucrats, Citizens, and Migrants

Abstract

Populist leaders have blamed the increasing international migration as the primary reason for the lack of public service delivery for natives. Using unique procurement data from Turkey, which hosts the largest refugee population in the world, we compare the public service delivery performance of municipalities impacted by the refugee crisis with other municipalities using the Syrian refugee shock and analyze how public service delivery performance impacts electoral outcomes. Our results shed light on how local governments change the level and the composition of public spending amidst migrant influx.

Authors

• Fatih Serkant Adiguzel, Sabancı University

• Mustafa Kaba

• Murat Koyuncu, Bogazici University