Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T00:41:32.811Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Voting Behavior and Public Employment in Nazi Germany

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 April 2018

Stephan E. Maurer
Stephan E. Maurer*
Affiliation:
Stephan E. Maurer is Assistant Professor, University of Konstanz and Research Associate, Centre for Economic Performance. University of Konstanz, Department of Economics, Box D 124, D-78457 Konstanz. E-mail: [email protected].
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article analyzes whether the German National Socialists used economic policies to reward their voters after coming to power in 1933. Using newly-collected data on public employment from the German censuses in 1925, 1933, and 1939 and addressing the potential endogeneity of the NSDAP vote share in 1933 by way of an instrumental variables strategy based on a similar party in Imperial Germany, I find that cities with higher NSDAP vote shares experienced a relative increase in public employment: for every additional percentage point in the vote share, the number of public employment jobs increased by around 2.5 percent.

Type
Articles
Information
The Journal of Economic History , Volume 78 , Issue 1 , March 2018 , pp. 1 - 39
Copyright
Copyright © The Economic History Association 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

I thank the editor Ann Carlos and three anonymous referees for comments and suggestions that have significantly improved this paper. Further thanks are due to Steve Pischke, Guy Michaels, Michel Azulai, Sascha Becker, Florian Blum, Abel Brodeur, Robin Burgess, Marta De Philippis, Georg Graetz, Kilian Huber, Yu-Hsiang Lei, Andrei Potlogea, Robin Schädler, Pedro Souza, Daniel Sturm, Andrea Tesei, Nico Voigtländer, and seminar participants at the LSE Labour Work in Progress Seminar, and the 3rd LSE and Macrohist Interwar Economic History Workshop for their helpful comments. I also thank Michael Beaney from the LSE Language Centre for proofreading the manuscript. Financial support in the form of a LSE Ph.D. Scholarship is gratefully acknowledged. All remaining errors are my own.

References

REFERENCES

Abelshauser, Werner. “Germany: Guns, Butter and Economic Miracles.” In The Economics of World War II, edited by Harrison, Mark, 122–76. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.Google Scholar
Adena, Maja, Enikolopov, Ruben, Petrova, Maria, et al. “Radio and the Rise of the Nazis in Prewar Germany.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 130, no. 4 (2015): 1885–993.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, Gary M., and Tollison, Robert D.. “Congressional Influence and Patterns of New Deal Spending, 1933–1939.” Journal of Law and Economics 34, no. 1 (1991): 161–75.Google Scholar
Bajohr, Frank. Parvenüs und Profiteure. Korruption in der NS-Zeit. Paperback edition, Frankfurt am Main: Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, 2004.Google Scholar
Barkai, Avraham. Das Wirtschaftssystem des Nationalsozialismus: der Historische und Ideologische Hintergrund. Extended edition. Frankfurt am Main: Fischer, 1988.Google Scholar
Bergmann, Werner. “Christlich-soziale Partei (Deutschland).” In Handbuch des Antisemitismus, Band 5: Organisationen, Institutionen, Bewegungen, edited by Benz, Wolfgang, 101–104. Berlin: De Gruyter Saur, 2012.Google Scholar
Blaich, Fritz. “Möglichkeiten und Grenzen Kommunaler Wirtschaftspolitik während der Weltwirtschaftskrise 1929–1932.” Archiv für Kommunalwissenschaften 9 (1970): 92–108.Google Scholar
Burgess, Robin, Jedwab, Remi, Miguel, Edward, et al. “The Value of Democracy: Evidence from Road Building in Kenya.” American Economic Review 105, no. 6 (2015): 1817–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cox, Gary W., and McCubbins, Matthew D.. “Electoral Politics as a Redistributive Game.” Journal of Politics 48, no. 2 (1986): 370–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Das Buch der deutschen Gaue: Fünf Jahre Nationalsozialistische Aufbauleistung. Bayreuth: Gauverlag Bayerische Ostmark, 1938.Google Scholar
Deist, Wilhelm. “Die Aufrüstung der Wehrmacht.” In Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg, Band 1: Ursachen und Voraussetzungen der Deutschen Kriegspolitik, edited by Deist, Wilhelm, Messerschmidt, Manfred, Volkmann, Hans-Erich, et al., 371–534. Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlangs-Anstalt, 1979.Google Scholar
Städtetag, Deutscher, ed. Statistisches Jahrbuch Deutscher Städte: amtliche Veröffentlichung des Deutschen Städtetages. Jena: Fischer, 1928, 1929, 1931, 1932.Google Scholar
Do, Quoc-Anh, Nguyen, Kieu-Trang, and Tran, Anh N.. “One Mandarin Benefits the Whole Clan: Hometown Favoritism in an Authoritarian Regime.” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 9, no. 4 (2017): 1–29.Google Scholar
Erdmann, Jürgen. Coburg, Bayern und das Reich 1918–1923. Coburg: Roßteutscher, 1969.Google Scholar
Faccio, Mara. “Politically Connected Firms.” American Economic Review 96, no. 1 (2006): 369–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Faccio, Mara, Masulis, Ronald W., and McConnell, John J.. “Political Connections and Corporate Bailouts.” Journal of Finance 61, no. 6 (2006): 2597–635.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Falter, Jürgen W. Hitlers Wähler. München: Beck, 1991.Google Scholar
Die, Jürgen W. “Märzgefallenen” von 1933. Neue Forschungsergebnisse zum Sozialen Wandel Innerhalb der NSDAP-Mitgliedschaft während der Machtergreifungsphase [1998]. Historical Social Research: 25 (Supplement, 2013).Google Scholar
Falter, Jürgen W., and Hänisch., Dirk Wahl- und Sozialdaten der Kreise und Gemeinden des Deutschen Reiches von 1920 bis 1933. GESIS Datenarchiv, Köln, ZA8013 Datenfile Version 1.0.0 doi: 10.4232/1.8013. 1990.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Falter, Jürgen W., Lindenberger, Thomas, and Schumann, Siegfried. Wahlen und Abstimmungen in der Weimarer Republik. München: Beck, 1986.Google Scholar
Falter, Jürgen W., Link, Andreas, Lohmöller, Jan-Bernd, et al. Arbeitslosigkeit und Nationalsozialismus- eine Empirische Analyse des Beitrages der Massenerwerbslosigkeit zu den Wahlerfolgen der NSDAP 1932 und 1933. Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie 35 (1983): 525–54.Google Scholar
Falter, Jürgen W., Link, Andreas, Lohmöller., Jan-Bernd Hat Arbeitslosigkeit Tatsächlich den Aufstieg des Nationalsozialismnus Bewirkt? (Did Unemployment Really Cause the Rise of National Socialism?). Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik 200 (1985): 121–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferguson, Thomas, and Voth, Hans-Joachim. “Betting on Hitler: The Value of Political Connections in Nazi Germany.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 123, no. 1 (2008): 101–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fisman, Raymond. “Estimating the Value of Political Connections.” American Economic Review 91, no. 4 (2001): 1095–102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frey, Bruno S., and Weck, Hannelore. “Hat Arbeitslosigkeit den Aufstieg des Nationalsozialismus Bewirkt?” (Did Unemployment Lead to the Rise of National Socialism?). Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik 196 (1981): 1–31.Google Scholar
Gagliarducci, Stefano, and Manacorda, Marco. “Politics in the Family: Nepotism and the Hiring Decisions of Italian Firms.” IZA DP Working Paper No. 9841, Bonn, Germany, March 2016.Google Scholar
Golecki, Anton. “Das Kabinett von Schleicher.” In Akten der Reichskanzlei Weimarer Republik, edited by Erdmann, Karl-Dietrich, Mommsen, Wolfgang, and Vogel, Walter. Boppard am Rhein: Harald Bodt Verlag, 1986.Google Scholar
Gräfe, Thomas. “Deutschsoziale Partei.” In Handbuch des Antisemitismus, Band 5: Organisationen, Institutionen, Bewegungen, edited by Benz, Wolfgang, 201–202. Berlin: De Gruyter Saur, 2012.Google Scholar
Hayward, Nicholas F., and Morris, David S.. The First Nazi Town. Aldershot: Avebury, 1988.Google Scholar
Herbert, Ulrich. “Extermination Policy: New Answers and Questions about the History of the ‘Holocaust’ in German Historiography.” In National Socialist Extermination Policies: Contemporary German Perspectives and Controversies, edited by Herbert, Ulrich, 1–52. Oxford: Berghahn, 2000.Google Scholar
Hodler, Roland, and Raschky, Paul A.. “Regional Favoritism.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 129, no. 2 (2014): 995–1033.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hsieh, Chang-Tai, Miguel, Edward, Ortega, Daniel, et al. “The Price of Political Opposition: Evidence from Venezuela's Maisanta.” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 3, no. 2 (2011): 196–214.Google Scholar
Hubatsch, W., and Klein, T., eds. Grundriß der deutschen Verwaltungsgeschichte. Marburg, 1975ff.Google Scholar
Jayachandran, Seema. “The Jeffords Effect.” Journal of Law and Economics 49, no. 2 (2006): 397–425.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, Simon, and Mitton, Todd. “Cronyism and Capital Controls: Evidence from Malaysia.” Journal of Financial Economics 67, no. 2 (2003): 351–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kershaw, Ian. Hitler 1889–1936: Hubris. London: Penguin, 1999.Google Scholar
Khwaja, Asim Ijaz, and Mian, Atif. “Do Lenders Favor Politically Connected Firms? Rent Provision in an Emerging Financial Market.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 120, no. 4 (2005): 1371–411.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
King, Gary, Rosen, Ori, Tanner, Martin, et al. “Ordinary Economic Voting Behaviour in the Extraordinary Election of Adolf Hitler.” Journal of Economic History 68, no. 4 (2008): 951–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koenig, Christoph. “Loose Cannons- War Veterans and the Erosion of Democracy in Weimar Germany.” TWERPS Working Paper No. 1079, University of Warwick, 2015.Google Scholar
Kolb, Eberhard. The Weimar Republic. Translated 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 2005.Google Scholar
Levitt, Steven D., and Snyder, James M. Jr. “Political Parties and the Distribution of Federal Outlays.” American Journal of Political Science 39, no. 4 (1995): 958–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lindbeck, Assar, and Weibull, Jörgen W.. “Balanced-Budget Redistribution as the Outcome of Political Competition.” Public Choice 52, no. 3 (1987): 273–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Litschig, Stephan, and Morrison, Kevin. “The Impact of Intergovernmental Transfers on Education Outcomes and Poverty Reduction.” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 5, no. 4 (2013): 206–40.Google Scholar
Manacorda, Marco, Miguel, Edward Andrew, and Vigorito, Andrea. “Government Transfers and Political Support.” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 3, no. 3 (2011): 1–28.Google Scholar
MPIDR [Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research] and CGG [Chair for Geodesy and Geoinformatics, University of Rostock]. MPIDR Population History GIS Collection (partly based on Hubatsch and Klein 1975 ff.). Rostock, 2011.Google Scholar
Münster., Bezirksregierung Stadt Rheine- Kurzinformation. http://www.bezreg-muenster.de (accessed 2 April 2013).Google Scholar
Nöth, Stefan. “Die Stadtentwicklung Coburgs seit 1920.” In Stadt Coburg, edited by Morsbach, Peter and Titz, Otto, 105–13. München: Karl M. Lipp, 2006.Google Scholar
van Riel, Arthur, and Schram, Arthur. “Weimar Economic Decline, Nazi Germany Recovery, and the Stabilization of Political Dictatorship.” Journal of Economic History 53, no. 1 (1993): 71–105.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ritschl, Albrecht. “Deficit Spending in the Nazi Recovery, 1933–1938.” Journal of the Japanese and International Economies 16, no. 4 (2002): 559–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ritschl, Albrecht. “Hat das Dritte Reich Wirklich eine Ordentliche Beschäftigungspolitik betrieben?” Jahrbuch für Wirtschaftsgeschichte 2003/I: 125–40.Google Scholar
Ritschl, Albrecht. “Reparations, Deficits, and Debt Default: The Great Depression in Germany.” In The Great Depression of the 1930s, edited by Crafts, Nicholas and Fearon, Peter, 110–39. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.Google Scholar
Salomon, Bruno, and Stein, Erwin. Die Riesengebirgskreise. Berlin: Deutscher Kommunalverlag, 1928.Google Scholar
Sandner, Harald. Coburg im 20. Jahrhundert. Coburg: Neue Presse, 2000.Google Scholar
Satyanath, Shanker, Voigtländer, Nico, and Voth, Hans-Joachim. “Bowling for Fascism: Social Capital and the Rise of Nazi Party.” Journal of Political Economy 125, no. 2. (2017): 478–526.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schlösser, Susanne. Die Heilbronner NSDAP und ihre “Führer.” Eine Bestandsaufnahme zur nationalsozialistischen Personalpolitik auf lokaler Ebene und ihren Auswirkungen “vor Ort.” In Heilbronnica 2- Beiträge zur Stadtgeschichte, edited by Christhard Schrank and Peter Wanner. Quellen und Forschungen zur Geschichte der Stadt Heilbronn 15, 2003.Google Scholar
Schmitz-Berning, Cornelia. Vokabular des Nationalsozialismus. Berlin: deGruyter, 1998.Google Scholar
Schoenbaum, David. Hitler's Social Revolution. New York, London: W.W. Norton, 1997. (Reprint of original work published in 1966.)Google Scholar
Silverman, Dan P. Hitler's Economy: Nazi Work Creation Programs, 1933–1936. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1998.Google Scholar
Spenkuch, Jörg, and Tillmann, Philipp. “Elite Influence? Religion and the Electoral Success of the Nazis.” American Journal of Political Science, forthcoming.Google Scholar
Stachura, Peter D. “Der Kritische Wendepunkt? Die NSDAP und die Reichstagswahlen vom 29.” Mai 1928. Vierteljahreshefte für Zeitgeschichte 26 (1978): 66–99.Google Scholar
Stadt Lübeck (Pressemitteilung). 1. April 1937: Der Staat Lübeck endet, http://www.luebeck.de/aktuelles/presse/pressedienstarchiv (accessed 15 January 2012).Google Scholar
Statistisches, Reichsamt, ed. Statistik des Deutschen Reiches: Die Reichstagswahlen von 1912, vol. 250 (Neue Folge). Berlin, 1913.Google Scholar
Statistisches, Reichsamt. Statistik des Deutschen Reiches: Die Volkszählung im Deutschen Reiche am 1. Dezember 1910, vol. 240 (Neue Folge). Berlin, 1915.Google Scholar
Statistisches, Reichsamt. Statistik des Deutschen Reiches: Die Berufliche und Soziale Gliederung der Bevölkerung in den Ländern und Landesteilen 1925, vol. 403–405 (Neue Folge). Berlin, 1927–1928.Google Scholar
Statistisches, Reichsamt. Statistik des Deutschen Reiches: Die Bevölkerung des Deutschen Reiches nach den Ergebnissen der Volkszählung 1925, vol. 401 (Neue Folge). Berlin, 1928.Google Scholar
Statistisches, Reichsamt. Statistik des Deutschen Reiches: Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis für das Deutsche Reich, vol. 450 (Neue Folge). Berlin, 1934.Google Scholar
Statistisches, Reichsamt. Statistik des Deutschen Reiches: Die Berufliche und Soziale Gliederung der Bevölkerung des Deutschen Reichs 1933, vol. 453–56 (Neue Folge). Berlin, 1935–1936.Google Scholar
Statistisches, Reichsamt. Statistik des Deutschen Reiches: Volks-, Berufs- und Betriebszählung vom 17. Mai 1939: Die Berufstätigkeit der Bevölkerung in den Reichsteilen, vol. 557 (Neue Folge). Berlin, 1942.Google Scholar
Stephenson, Jill. Women in Nazi Germany. Harlow: Longman, 2001.Google Scholar
Stögbauer, Christian: “The Radicalisation of the German Electorate: Swinging to the Right and the Left in the Twilight of the Weimar Republic.” European Review of Economic History 5 (2001): 251–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Voigtländer, Nico, and Voth, Hans-Joachim. “Persecution Perpetuated: The Medieval Origins of Anti-Semitic Violence in Nazi Germany.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 127, no. 3 (2012): 1339–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Voigtländer, Nico, and Voth, Hans-Joachim. “Highway to Hitler.” NBER Working Paper No. 20150, Cambridge, MA, 2016.Google Scholar
Waldinger, Fabian. “Quality Matters: The Expulsion of Professors and the Consequences for Ph.D. Student Outcomes in Nazi Germany.” Journal of Political Economy 118, no. 4 (2010): 787–831.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Waldinger, Fabian. “Peer Effects in Science: Evidence from the Dismissal of Scientists in Nazi Germany.” Review of Economic Studies 79, no. 2 (2012): 838–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weder, Mark. “Some Observations on the Great Depression in Germany.” German Economic Review 7, no. 1 (2006): 113–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Xu, Guo. “The Costs of Patronage: Evidence from the British Empire.” Mimeo, 2017.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Maurer supplementary material

Online Appendix

Download Maurer supplementary material(File)
File 52.3 KB