Many governments operate consumer debt relief programs, often timed to match the election cycle, but their political … effects are not well understood. We ask if debt relief can influence elections in democracies. Our motivating exercise is the … large debt relief program enacted in the Republic of Georgia that, similar to USA, affected every sixth voter. We estimate …

We study consumer debt relief as a tool of distributive politics and ask if debt relief can influence elections. We … foundation win the 2018 Presidential election, and that its effects persisted into the next election. We show how economic power … can translate into political power in polities with de jure competitive elections but with de facto weak accountability. …