The impact of political alignment on resource rent distribution in Colombia

Maria Antonieta Collazos-Ortiz; Pui Hang Wong; David Andrés Londoño Bedoya

doi:10.1080/13597566.2025.2520972

The impact of political alignment on resource rent distribution in Colombia

Título traducido de la contribución: El impacto del alineamiento político en la distribución de la renta de los recursos en Colombia

Maria Antonieta Collazos-Ortiz, Pui Hang Wong, David Andrés Londoño Bedoya

Departamento de Administración

Maastricht University

Producción: Contribución a una revista › Artículo › revisión exhaustiva

Resumen

Los gobiernos subnacionales políticamente alineados con el gobierno central tienden a recibir más recursos fiscales que sus contrapartes no alineadas. Sin embargo, las motivaciones detrás de este patrón siguen siendo controvertidas. Mientras que algunos estudios argumentan que dichas transferencias buscan recompensar a sus simpatizantes, otros sugieren que buscan comprar el apoyo político de los votantes indecisos antes de las elecciones. Este artículo retoma el debate a través del estudio de caso de Colombia. En 2012, el país reformó sus normas de reparto de ingresos por regalías, otorgando al presidente mayor discreción sobre el acceso municipal a los recursos fiscales, lo que indujo un efecto de alineación. Utilizando datos de panel a nivel municipal y modelos de efectos fijos, encontramos evidencia de alineación política en la asignación de rentas de recursos. Además, el efecto de alineación es positivo para los municipios indecisos. Nuestros hallazgos subrayan la importancia crucial de un diseño de políticas equilibrado para garantizar una distribución imparcial de las transferencias y mitigar las desigualdades e ineficiencias asociadas con la alineación política.

Título traducido de la contribución	El impacto del alineamiento político en la distribución de la renta de los recursos en Colombia
Idioma original	Inglés
Páginas (desde-hasta)	1-27
Número de páginas	27
Publicación	Regional and Federal Studies
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1080/13597566.2025.2520972
Estado	Publicada - 27 jun. 2025

Palabras clave

Colombia
Transferencias intergubernamentales
alineación política
instituciones fiscales
rentas de recursos

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10.1080/13597566.2025.2520972

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title = "The impact of political alignment on resource rent distribution in Colombia",

abstract = "Subnational governments that are politically aligned with the central government tend to receive more fiscal resources than their non-aligned counterparts. However, the motivations behind this pattern remain contested. While some studies argue that such transfers are intended to reward core supporters, others suggest they aim to buy political support from swing voters ahead of elections. This article revisits the debate through a case study of Colombia. In 2012, the country reformed its royalty revenue-sharing rules, granting the president greater discretion over municipal access to fiscal resources, thereby inducing an alignment effect. Using municipal-level panel data and fixed-effects models, we find evidence of political alignment in the allocation of resource rents. Moreover, the alignment effect is positive for swing municipalities. Our findings underscore the critical importance of balanced policy design in ensuring unbiased transfer distribution and mitigating the inequalities and inefficiencies associated with political alignment.",

keywords = "Colombia, Intergovernmental transfers, fiscal institutions, political alignment, resource rents, Colombia, Transferencias intergubernamentales, alineaci{\'o}n pol{\'i}tica, instituciones fiscales, rentas de recursos",

author = "Collazos-Ortiz, \{Maria Antonieta\} and Wong, \{Pui Hang\} and Bedoya, \{David Andr{\'e}s Londo{\~n}o\}",

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year = "2025",

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doi = "10.1080/13597566.2025.2520972",

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AU - Collazos-Ortiz, Maria Antonieta

AU - Wong, Pui Hang

AU - Bedoya, David Andrés Londoño

PY - 2025/6/27

Y1 - 2025/6/27

N2 - Subnational governments that are politically aligned with the central government tend to receive more fiscal resources than their non-aligned counterparts. However, the motivations behind this pattern remain contested. While some studies argue that such transfers are intended to reward core supporters, others suggest they aim to buy political support from swing voters ahead of elections. This article revisits the debate through a case study of Colombia. In 2012, the country reformed its royalty revenue-sharing rules, granting the president greater discretion over municipal access to fiscal resources, thereby inducing an alignment effect. Using municipal-level panel data and fixed-effects models, we find evidence of political alignment in the allocation of resource rents. Moreover, the alignment effect is positive for swing municipalities. Our findings underscore the critical importance of balanced policy design in ensuring unbiased transfer distribution and mitigating the inequalities and inefficiencies associated with political alignment.

AB - Subnational governments that are politically aligned with the central government tend to receive more fiscal resources than their non-aligned counterparts. However, the motivations behind this pattern remain contested. While some studies argue that such transfers are intended to reward core supporters, others suggest they aim to buy political support from swing voters ahead of elections. This article revisits the debate through a case study of Colombia. In 2012, the country reformed its royalty revenue-sharing rules, granting the president greater discretion over municipal access to fiscal resources, thereby inducing an alignment effect. Using municipal-level panel data and fixed-effects models, we find evidence of political alignment in the allocation of resource rents. Moreover, the alignment effect is positive for swing municipalities. Our findings underscore the critical importance of balanced policy design in ensuring unbiased transfer distribution and mitigating the inequalities and inefficiencies associated with political alignment.

KW - Colombia

KW - Intergovernmental transfers

KW - fiscal institutions

KW - political alignment

KW - resource rents

KW - Colombia

KW - Transferencias intergubernamentales

KW - alineación política

KW - instituciones fiscales

KW - rentas de recursos

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JF - Regional and Federal Studies

ER -

The impact of political alignment on resource rent distribution in Colombia

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