TY  - JOUR
AU  - Alesina,Alberto
AU  - Spear,Stephen E.
TI  - An Overlapping Generations Model of Electoral Competition
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 2354
PY  - 1987
Y2  - August 1987
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w2354
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w2354.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Alberto F. Alesina
Department of Economics
Harvard University
Littauer Center 210
Cambridge, MA 02138
Tel: 617/495-8388
Fax: 617/495-7730
E-Mail: aalesina@harvard.edu
AB  - This paper presents a dynamic model of political competition between two "parties" with different policy preferences. A "party" is explicitly modeled as a sequence of overlapping generations of candidates, all of whom face finite decision horizons. In general, there is a conflict between the interests of the individual policymakers and those of the "party" , which includes subsequent generations of candidates. We characterize this conflict and suggest a scheme of "intergenerational transfers" within the party which can resolve or mitigate this conflict. The paper shows how the "overlapping generations" model can be usefully applied to the political arena.
ER  -