Distributive Politics in Rural Housing Policy Implementation in Colombia

Abstract

Resource distribution in salient social programs, such as affordable housing, is often subject to a trade-off between technical response to housing demand and political interests at different government levels. While distribution of housing subsidies is formally expected to follow technical need-based criteria, political influence may also affect these allocations. Consequently, this research explores demand/need and political factors as explanations of resource allocation across Colombian municipalities through the national rural housing program. The study uses a panel dataset of the 1100 Colombian municipalities during 2009–2016. Municipal socio-demographic characteristics assess rural housing demand, while vote share for national, regional, and local leaders measures political interests. Findings suggest that the program favors core voters, as municipalities with higher support for the president receive greater rural housing allocations. This research contributes to the literature of housing and social policy implementation and its relationship with distributive politics by assessing the technical and political drivers of resource allocation in an emergent economy's multi-level setting.