Document Type
Working Paper
Date of This Version
5-1-2008
Keywords
pork barrel spending, pork, earmarks, government spending
Abstract
Congressional earmarks have been the subject of significant political debate in recent years. Also known as “pork barrel spending,” earmarks are budgetary requests made by a single legislator that typically circumvent the traditional competitive bidding process designed to ensure the efficient use of public dollars. Utilizing annual state-level estimates of pork barrel spending, we briefly examine the factors influencing states’ receipt of earmarked funds from Congress. Results indicate that on average smaller states receive the largest amount of per capita earmarked funding, most likely as a result of their disproportionate influence in the Senate. In addition, the presence of a Republican Congressional delegation increases pork spending in the state. Finally, the tenure of a state’s senior Senator has a large effect on the state’s receipt of earmarked funds. Each additional year of Senate experience by a state’s senior Senator results in a $4.48 increase in earmarked dollars per capita for that state’s residents.
Working Paper Number
0806
Recommended Citation
Boyle, Melissa and Matheson, Victor, "Determinants of the Distribution of Congressional Earmarks Across States" (2008). Economics Department Working Papers. Paper 54.
https://crossworks.holycross.edu/econ_working_papers/54
Published Version
This article was published as: Boyle, M., Matheson, V. (2009). Determinants of the Distribution of Congressional Earmarks Across States. Economics Letters, 104(2), pp.63-65.