The Hitler government built the world’s first nationwide motorway network. We examine the impact of road-building on the popularity of the Nazi regime. Using shifts in electoral support between 1933 and 1934, we conclude that ‘pork-barrel’ spending worked in reducing opposition to the regime – wherever the new roads ran, fewer Germans voted against the government in elections and plebiscites. At least part of the regime’s popularity after 1934 can be explained by the popularity of the Autobahn.
Joachim Voth, Nico Voigtländer, 22 May 2014
Joachim Voth, 18 September 2008
Around the globe, politically connected firms are more valuable. Nazi Germany was no different, though historians have lacked convincing evidence to prove that claim. This column shows that Nazi-linked firms reaped astoundingly large returns when Adolf Hitler came to power.
Most Read
Blogs&Reviews
Vox eBooks
Vox Talks
Events
-
15 - 15 March 2019 / London, Royal Society / UK Network of Environmental Economists (UKNEE)
-
28 - 29 March 2019 / European Central Bank, Frankfurt / European Central Bank and the University of Ohio
-
28 - 29 March 2019 / Paris / SUERF - The European Money and Finance Forum Banque de France (BDF)
-
3 - 4 May 2019 / London / Queen Mary, University of London
-
16 - 17 May 2019 / University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal / School of Engineering, University of Minho
