The roles of governors, local legislatures, and national politics in allocating disaster recovery payments: Evidence from Japan

This study explores how congressional and local politics influence the allocation of disaster recovery payments using Japanese prefectural-level panel data from 1989 to 2015. The main findings are as follows. First, gubernatorial years in office positively affect allocation. This holds true even after substituting terms in office for years in office. Second, the share of prefectural legislators belonging to the governing parties is negatively correlated with payments. This connection was strongest when the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was the sole governing party or part of coalitions with other governing parties. Third, governors' role in increasing funds for disaster recovery has deepened since the 2000s, but in the 1990s, the distribution system of specific-purpose grants (which the LDP had developed over a long period of time) helped to dispense payments. Fourth, gubernatorial election year, a governor's partisan affiliation, and other legislative and congressional political factors do not explain disaster payment allocation.