Clientelism as political monopoly

We characterize political clientelism as a regime in which an incumbent holds a political monopoly over resources valuable to the voters. Through a formal model in a simple economy we study how clientelism affects policy in a democratic setting, placing special emphasis on its effects on economic redistribution. We show that political monopoly depresses (but does not eliminate) electoral competition, and gives incumbents an interest in suppressing both redistributive policies and economic development.