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. 2024 May:114:36-40.
doi: 10.1257/pandp.20241009.

Do Earmarks Target Low-Income and Minority Communities? Evidence from US Drinking Water

David A Keiser  1 , Bhashkar Mazumder  2 , David Molitor  3 , Joseph S Shapiro  4 , Brant J Walker  4
Affiliations

Do Earmarks Target Low-Income and Minority Communities? Evidence from US Drinking Water

David A Keiser et al. AEA Pap Proc. 2024 May.

Abstract

The quality and inequality of US drinking water investments have gained attention after recent environmental disasters in Flint, Michigan, and elsewhere. We compare the formula-based targeting of subsidized loans provided under the Safe Drinking Water Act with the targeting of congressional drinking water earmarks ("pork barrel" spending). Earmarks are often critiqued for potentially privileging wealthier and more politically connected communities. We find that earmarks target Black, Hispanic, and low-income communities, partly due to targeting water systems serving large populations. Earmark and loan targeting differ significantly across all the demographics we analyze. Compared to Safe Drinking Water Act loans, earmarks disproportionately target Hispanic communities but not Black or low-income communities.

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Figures

Figure A1:
Figure A1:
Map of Federal Funds for Drinking Water Projects Notes: This map indicates whether each county had a system that received earmarks, Safe Drinking Water Act loans, or both, in fiscal years 2009, 2010, and 2022.
Figure A2:
Figure A2:
Targeting of Earmarks and Loans, by Community Demographics, Controlling for Log Population Notes: An observation underlying the graphs represents a water system. SDWA is the Safe Drinking Water Act. Each panel divides water systems into deciles based on the relevant community demographic. Each point in a graph shows the number of loans or earmarks that water systems receive, divided by the total number of water systems in the decile. Panel A shows six bins due to the large number of communities with zero share Black. In each graph, the horizontal axis labels show the maximum value in each bin (Panels A-C) or the decile number (Panel D). Demographics are from the 2010 Census (Manson et al. 2023).
Figure 1:
Figure 1:
Targeting of Earmarks and Loans, by Community Demographics Notes: An observation underlying the graphs represents a water system. SDWA is the Safe Drinking Water Act. Each panel divides water systems into deciles based on the relevant community demographic. Each point in a graph shows the number of loans or earmarks that water systems receive, divided by the total number of water systems in the decile. Panel A shows six bins due to the large number of communities with zero share Black. In each graph, the horizontal axis labels show the maximum value in each bin (Panels A-C) or the decile number (Panel D). Demographics are from the 2010 Census (Manson et al. 2023).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

APPENDIX REFERENCES

    1. 40 CFR 35.3560. 2023. “Title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, part 35, section 3560.”
    1. Congressional Research Service. 2018. “Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF): Overview, Issues, and Legislation.” R45304.
    1. Envirofacts Data Service API. 2020. “Safe Drinking Water Information System - Water Systems.” US EPA. https://www.epa.gov/enviro/envirofacts-data-service-api (accessed May 13th, 2020).
    1. EPA. 2023a. “Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Infographic.” https://www.epa.gov/dwsrf/drinking-water-state-revolving-fund-infographic, accessed December 10, 2023.
    1. EPA. 2023b. “Water Infrastructure Investments.” https://www.epa.gov/infrastructure/water-infrastructure-investments, accessed December 10, 2023.

References

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