  We compare two scenarios in a model where politicians offer local public
goods to heterogeneous voters: one where politicians have access to data on
voters and thus can target specific ones, and another where politicians only
decide on the level of spending. When the budget is small, or the public good
has a high value, access to voter information leads the winner to focus on
poorer voters, enhancing voter welfare. With a larger budget or less crucial
public goods, politicians target a narrow group of swing voters, which harms
the voter welfare.
