Influence of managerial ability on the re-election of municipal political parties

ABSTRACT This article investigates whether citizens reward those politicians who achieve better results in public management with re-election. It analyses the last three electoral processes in Spanish local governments, a period that runs from the beginning of the economic crisis (2007) to the last municipal elections (2019). For periods of financial crisis, the results indicate a higher probability of re-election for governments that have better managed public services. In periods of economic growth, citizens do not take into account the capacity that rulers have shown in public management.