Seminario CEDE - Oskar Nupia
Oskar Nupia.
The literature has highlighted that the socioeconomic characteristics of rulers shape their preferences for redistributive policies and that gaps between citizens and politicians can affect how well public policies address citizens' needs. Yet in many countries, including Colombia, basic information on legislators' economic position remains unavailable. Using a unique dataset built from mandatory disclosure filings, we document the income, wealth, and conflicts of interest (CI) of Colombian legislators during the 2018-2022 and 2022-2026 Congresses. Legislators belong to the top 3% of the income and wealth distribution, earning roughly seven times the median tax filer and holding five times their wealth. On average, 70% of legislators report CI, which span all economic sectors. The largest concentrations of these conflicts are found in Agriculture, Livestock, Real Estate, Commerce, Public Administration, and Personal Services. While reported private economic activities have declined between Congresses, conflicts involving relatives increased by a similar magnitude. Left-wing legislators report lower income and wealth but are not less likely to have CI. Right-wing legislators tend to concentrate their conflicts in Agriculture and Livestock, whereas left-wing legislators focus on Information and Administrative Services. Wealthier legislators report more CI across more sectors, and each additional term in Congress is associated with approximately 15% more wealth. These patterns document a substantial representational distance between legislators and citizens that extends beyond income levels to the nature of economic ties that may shape legislative behavior.
