Does the Color of the Local District Incumbent affect Housing Prices? Evidence from Singapore

• In Event: 269. Types and Effects of Electoral Malpractice in Southeast Asia

Abstract

In Singapore, general elections are held under a plurality system.  The People's Action Party (PAP) has won nearly all districts in all elections since independence in 1965.  In this paper, we test whether public housing in opposition districts is cheaper. Electoral boundaries are re-drawn before every general election. The Electoral Commission, which is accountable only to the Prime Minister, is responsible for designing the borders: hence, the rationale behind electoral boundary changes is not known to the public, or to anyone beyond the committee members and the PM. Since changes from one district to another are exogenous to all potential buyers, we use this fact to test whether switching from/to an opposition constituency has any impact on housing prices. This has critical policy implications, given that, in Singapore, 80% of the population live in public housing. Lower prices in opposition guards could reflect a distaste for living in those areas, or a rational expectation that the incumbent party would fuel less resources in those areas.

Author

• Guillem Riambau Armet, Yale-NUS College