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b'We\\u2019ve become deeply familiar with stimulus checks in the last few years, but what isn\\u2019t clear is what affect these transfers may have on elections. Could stimulus checks be enough for citizens to change their votes to the party handing out the money and if so, is this a way for politicians to buy votes?\\n\\nNorthwestern Professor of economics Silvia Vannutelli explores these questions in a paper titled \\u201cThe Political Economy of Stimulus Transfers\\u201d. She looks at stimulus payments in Italy in 2014 and uncovers some surprising findings. Not only did these transfers appear to \\u201cpurchase\\u201d some votes, but the effect seem to persist into the future.'