Do Politicians Spend Money Differently Depending On Its Source?
If you found a hundred-dollar bill on the sidewalk, would you spend it differently than a hundred dollars made at work? This same question applies to politicians. Governments collect revenues from a variety of sources, does where the money comes from change how it’s spent? In a paper looking at taxes and royalties from natural resources in Columbia, University of Chicago Professor of Public Policy Luis Martinez shows how the source of revenue seems to determine whether it is wasted frivolously or put toward necessary public projects.