Voter reaction to government incompetence and corruption related to the 1999 earthquakes in Turkey

What is it about?

Two major earthquakes struck Northwestern Turkey in 1999. They showed that there were rampant corruption involving construction and zoning code violations. The government’s relief efforts were tainted by corruption as well. How voters responded to these in the next election held in 2002 is investigated. The corruption and mismanagement related to relief, provided us with a unique opportunity to determine whether and how the electorate punished the culprits for each of these. The purpose of this paper is to shed light also on the new party system which emerged in Turkey after 2002.

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Why is it important?

Corruption usually makes little difference in the fortunes of politicians. Some recent studies suggest that it takes more than just exposure of corruption to get the voters to react. Politicians pay a significant price only when the corruption touches all political parties across the board, is not accompanied by good governance, and competent non-corrupt alternatives are available. The results provide support for this assertion from the natural experiment that has taken place in Turkey.

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