Scandinavian Working Papers in Economics

Working Paper Series,
Research Institute of Industrial Economics

No 1490: Infrastructure Expansion, Tourism, and Electoral Outcomes

Adrian Mehic ()
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Adrian Mehic: Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN), Postal: Research Institute of Industrial Economics, Box 55665, SE-102 15 Stockholm, Sweden

Abstract: This paper examines the electoral impact of increased foreign tourism, using data from Croatia. Exploiting exogenous variation in travel times to coastal municipalities from improved road infrastructure, I show that foreign tourism reduces nationalist voting and increases the center-left vote share. This effect is partly due to manufacturing spillovers and demographic shifts within municipalities. Further complementing these findings, individual-level survey data indicates that workers within the hospitality sector are more likely to hold left-wing views. I further show that this is likely driven by economic concerns, rather than the diffusion of socially liberal views.

Keywords: Infrastructure; Tourism; Voting; Nationalism

JEL-codes: D72; F63; L83; O18; Z32

Language: English

46 pages, June 17, 2024

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