Internet Access, Campaign Spending, and Election Outcomes: Evidence from Peruvian Municipal Elections

Bruno Belevan

Since 2007, Peru has experienced an exponential and unequal increase in internet infrastructure and connectivity across districts. My research explores the effect of an increase in internet access on the level of competition in municipal elections. I constructed a novel panel data set with electoral, mobile internet infrastructure, and census data from 2010 to 2018. I find that higher levels of internet penetration led to tighter competition, an increase in electoral participation, and a reduction in the positive effects of campaign spending on vote share.