Income support and voting with territorial disparities

This article investigates the effect of government income support programs on voter behavior in contexts characterized by territorial disparities, using Italian Citizenship Income initiative as a case study. By leveraging a unique dataset that merges administrative records of program beneficiaries with electoral outcomes at the municipal level, we employ a difference-in-differences approach to exploit regional variations in program uptake. Our findings indicate that this program substantially increases electoral support for the issue owner party in economically disadvantaged areas while reducing it in more affluent regions. These results shed light on the importance of territorial disparities and contextual factors in shaping the political consequences of policy interventions.