Sanz, CarlosSolé Ollé, AlbertSorribas, Pilar2020-05-052020-05-052020https://hdl.handle.net/2445/158761We investigate whether corruption amplifies the political effects of economic crises. Using Spanish municipal-level data and a difference-in-difference strategy, we find that local unemployment shocks experienced during the Great Recession (2008-2015) increased political fragmentation. This effect was four times larger in municipalities exposed to malfeasance than in municipalities without a history of political corruption. We bolster this evidence by showing that, conditional on province and population-strata fixed effects, there is no evidence of differential pre-trends. We also find that the interaction of unemployment and corruption harms the two traditional main parties and benefits especially the new party on the left (Podemos).63 p.application/pdfengcc-by-nc-nd, (c) Sanz et al., 2020http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/es/Crisis econòmiquesCorrupció políticaResponsabilitat (Dret)DepressionsPolitical corruptionLiability (Law)info:eu-repo/semantics/workingPaperinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess