Harvesting Votes: The Electoral Effects of the Italian Land Reform

Abstract

Governments often implement large-scale redistribution policies to gain enduring political support. However, little is known on whether such policies generate sizable gains, whether these gains are persistent, and why. We study the political consequences of a major land reform in Italy. In a sample of towns close to the reform border, difference-in-differences estimates show that the reform generated large electoral gains for the incumbent Christian Democratic party. The electoral effects persist over four decades. We show that the reform initiated a sustained exchange between voters and politicians, rooted in clientelistic brokering and political patronage, which helped the Christian Democrats maintain the initial gains. We also examine alternative explanations – such as economic development, structural transformation, and shifts in political attitudes – but find little consistent evidence to support these channels.