Governors typically don’t have direct power over local government hiring, but they influence it via spending and political channels. In a study published in the European Economic Review, Cahan analyzed county jobs numbers during 359 gubernatorial elections from 1990 to 2015. States elect governors in different years, so most elections come with a built-in control group: counties in states that aren’t holding elections in the same year. The two counties were presumably similar, allowing Cahan to rule out long-term trends and geographic factors. And because there are many more local government jobs than state government ones, the sector presents more opportunities for political interference.

Source: Washington Post October 18, 2018 13:07 UTC