TY  - JOUR
AU  - Persson,Torsten
TI  - Do Political Institutions Shape Economic Policy?
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 8214
PY  - 2001
Y2  - April 2001
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w8214
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w8214.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
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
AB  - Do political institutions shape economic policy? I argue that this question should naturally appeal to economists. Moreover, the answer is in the affirmative, both in theory and in practice. In particular, recent theoretical work predicts systematic eects of electoral rules and political regimes on the size and composition of government spending. And results from ongoing empirical work indicate that such eect are indeed present in international panel data. Some empirical results are consistent with theoretical predictions: presidential regimes have smaller governments and countries with majoritarian elections have smaller welfare-state programs and less corruption. Other results present puzzles for future research: the adjustment to economic events is clearly institution-dependent, as is the timing and nature of the electoral cycle.
ER  -