Reciprocity in 4Ps and vote buying: a study on the impact of conditional cash transfers and vote buying in local government elections in the Philippines.

Abstract

This study explored whether the 4Ps program elicits feelings of reciprocity similar to that in vote buying. CCTs have been criticized and compared to the practice of vote buying. The literature on conditional cash transfers (CCT) mostly agree that recipients of CCTs are more likely to vote the incumbent politician that implemented the program. In the vote buying literature, reciprocity is pointed as a reason why recipients of the practice vote the politician despite them not being monitored. The researcher hypothesized that similar to vote buying, intrinsic reciprocity is also present in CCT beneficiaries and is the reason for them voting the incumbent politician. The method used in the study was semi-structured interviews and it was administered on 4Ps beneficiaries, vote buying recipients, and recipients of both 4Ps and vote buying in the city of Malabon. The results of the study found that recipients of 4Ps do not associate the 4Ps program with the mayor and do not vote out of intrinsic reciprocity. On the other hand, vote buying recipients voted more out of instrumental reasons.