TY  - JOUR
AU  - Besley,Timothy
AU  - Persson,Torsten
AU  - Sturm,Daniel
TI  - Political Competition and Economic Performance: Theory and Evidence from the United States
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 11484
PY  - 2005
Y2  - July 2005
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w11484
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w11484.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Timothy J. Besley
Department of Economics
London School of Economics
Houghton Street
London  WC2A 2AE  ENGLAND
E-Mail: T.Besley@lse.ac.uk

Torsten Persson
Torsten and Ragnar Soderberg Chair in Economic Sci
Institute for International Economic Studies
Stockholm University
SE-106 91 Stockholm
SWEDEN
Tel: +46 8 163066
Fax: +46 8 6747801
E-Mail: Torsten.Persson@iies.su.se

Daniel Sturm
London School of Economics
MPA Programme
Houghton Street
London WC2A 2AE
United Kingdom
Tel: +44-20-7955 7991
E-Mail: D.M.Sturm@lse.ac.uk
AB  - One of the most cherished propositions in economics is that market competition by and large raises consumer welfare. But whether political competition has similarly virtuous consequences is far less discussed. This paper formulates a model to explain why political competition may enhance economic performance and uses the United States as a testing ground for the model's implications. It finds statistically robust evidence that political competition has quantitatively important effects on state income growth, state policies, and the quality of Governors.
ER  -