We assess whether the partisanship of local councils affects the level and composition of local public spending by German municipalities. Our identification strategy exploits changes in the party with the absolute majority in the local council, combining an instrumental variable strategy with a matching approach to address potential selection into treatment. We find evidence for strong partisan effects: Communities with a left-wing council majority spend more on ‘people-oriented’ public goods and less on infrastructure than communities with a right-wing dominated council.

中文翻译：

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政党重要吗？来自德国市政当局的证据

我们评估了地方议会的党派关系是否会影响德国市政当局的地方公共支出的水平和构成。我们的识别策略利用地方议会中绝对多数席位的政党变化，将工具变量策略与匹配方法相结合，以解决潜在的治疗选择。我们发现有强有力的党派影响证据：与以右翼为主的理事会相比，左翼理事会占多数的社区在“以人为本”的公共产品上花费更多，而在基础设施上的支出更少。