Files
Abstract
This dissertation examines how voters reward politicians for the provisioning of a new service. Using new data on the expansion of access to electricity under the Tennessee Valley Authority, this study asks if voters reward politicians based on how much benefit they receive from electrification (measured through health) or based on just on receiving a new service. This dissertation also tests if the common historical narrative of the TVA helping turn the last Republican areas of the South Democratic holds true. Those areas that received TVA electricity gave a significant boost to Democratic candidates (about 3 percentage point) and experienced significant declines in crude mortality with the expansion of the service. The drops in mortality were largely driven by drops in respiratory disease, rather than other improvements. Lastly, the declines in mortality are not connecting to the increases in voting for the Democratic party, indicating that voters more closely responded to the easily visibly symbolic aspects of the new service.