Abstract
Political institutions affect the rules of the game in which politics is played. Economists now have theoretical approaches to explain the impact of institutions on policy, and empirical evidence to support the relevance of the theory. This article sketches a framework to inform discussions about how political institutions shape policy outcomes. It does so using four examples: majoritarian versus proportional elections; parliamentary versus presidential government; whether to impose term-limits on office holders; and the choice between direct and representative democracy. Each example illustrates how theory and data can be brought together to investigate a specific issue.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Bibliography
Austen-Smith, D. 2000. Redistributing income under proportional representation. Journal of Political Economy 108: 1235–1269.
Bawn, K., and F. Rosenbluth. 2006. Short versus long coalitions: Electoral accountability and the size of the public sector. American Journal of Political Science 50: 251–265.
Besley, T. 2006. Principled agents: The political economy of good government. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Besley, T., and A. Case. 1995. Does political accountability affect economic policy choices? Evidence from gubernatorial term limits. Quarterly Journal of Economics 110: 769–798.
Besley, T., and A. Case. 2003. Political institutions and policy choices: Evidence from the United States. Journal of Economic Literature 41: 7–73.
Besley, T., and S. Coate. 2000. Issue unbundling via citizens’ initiatives, Working paper no. 8036. Cambridge, MA: NBER.
Camobreco, J.F. 1998. Preferences, fiscal policies and the initiative process. Journal of Politics 60: 819–829.
Denzau, A.T., R.J. Mackay, and C. Weaver. 1981. On the initiative-referendum option and the control of monopoly government. In Tax and expenditure limitations, ed. H.F. Ladd and T.N. Tideman. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.
Dick, A.R., and L. Lott Jr. 1993. Reconciling voters’ behavior with legislative term limits. Journal of Public Economics 50: 1–14.
Diermeier, D., and T. Feddersen. 1998. Cohesion in legislatures and the vote of confidence procedure. American Political Science Review 92: 611–621.
Downs, A. 1957. An economic theory of democracy. New York: Harper.
Ferejohn, J. 1986. Incumbent performance and electoral control. Public Choice 50: 5–25.
Gerber, E. 1999. The populist paradox: Interest group influence and the promise of direct legislation. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Huber, J. 1996. The vote of confidence procedure in parliamentary democracies. American Political Science Review 90: 269–282.
Lascher Jr., E.L., M.G. Hagen, and S.A. Rochlin. 1996. Gun behind the door? Ballot initiatives, state policies and public opinion. Journal of Politics 58: 760–795.
Lijphart, A. 1990. The political consequences of electoral laws, 1945–1985. American Political Science Review 84: 481–496.
List, J., and D. Sturm. 2006. How elections matter: Theory and evidence from environmental policy. Quarterly Journal of Economics 121: 1249–1281.
Lizzeri, A., and N. Persico. 2001. The provision of public goods under alternative electoral incentives. American Economic Review 91: 225–245.
Lott Jr., J.R., and S.G. Bronars. 1993. Time series evidence on shirking in the U.S. House of Representatives. Public Choice 76: 125–149.
Matsusaka, J.G. 1995. Fiscal effects of voter initiative: Evidence from the last 30 years. Journal of Political Economy 103: 587–623.
McArthur, J., and S.V. Marks. 1988. Constituent interest vs. legislator ideology: The role of political opportunity cost. Economic Inquiry 26: 461–470.
Milesi-Feretti, G.-M., R. Perotti, and M. Rostagno. 2002. Electoral systems and the composition of government spending. Quarterly Journal of Economics 117: 609–657.
Myerson, R. 1993. Effectiveness of electoral systems for reducing government corruption: A game theoretic analysis. Games and Economic Behavior 5: 118–132.
Persson, T., G. Roland, and G. Tabellini. 1997. Separation of powers and political accountability. Quarterly Journal of Economics 112: 1163–1202.
Persson, T., G. Roland, and G. Tabellini. 2000. Comparative politics and public finance. Journal of Political Economy 108: 1121–1161.
Persson, T., G. Roland, and G. Tabellini. 2005. Electoral rules and government spending. Mimeo: Stockholm University.
Persson, T., and G. Tabellini. 1999. The size and scope of government: Comparative politics with rational politicians. 1998. Alfred Marshall lecture. European Economic Review 43: 699–735.
Persson, T., and G. Tabellini. 2000. Political economics: Explaining economic policy. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Persson, T., and G. Tabellini. 2003. The economic effect of constitutions. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Persson, T., and G. Tabellini. 2004. Constitutional rules and fiscal policy outcomes. American Economic Review 94: 25–64.
Pommerehne, W.W. 1990. The empirical relevance of comparative institutional analysis. European Economic Review 34: 458–469.
We are grateful to Jenny Mansbridge for helpful comments.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Copyright information
© 2018 Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
About this entry
Cite this entry
Besley, T., Persson, T. (2018). Political Institutions, Economic Approaches To. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_2096
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_2096
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-95188-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-95189-5
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences