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Political institutions, intertemporal cooperation, and the quality of public policies

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Abstract

While economists have tended to focus on specific public policies when developing recommendations, the achievement of welfare objectives might depend more on the quality of policies than their content. This paper develops several measures of the qualities of policies across countries, arguing that the quality of public policies depends on each polity’s ability to strike intertemporal transactions necessary to develop and sustain effective policies. The analytical framework developed here indicates that this ability depends on several characteristics of political institutions, such as congressional capabilities, judicial independence, and bureaucratic independence and professionalism. The empirical evidence presented supports this idea. An online appendix is available.

Suggested Citation

  • Carlos Scartascini & Ernesto Stein & Mariano Tommasi, 2013. "Political institutions, intertemporal cooperation, and the quality of public policies," Journal of Applied Economics, Universidad del CEMA, vol. 16, pages 1-32, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:cem:jaecon:v:16:y:2013:n:1:p:1-32
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    Cited by:

    1. Gindling, T. H. & Ronconi, Lucas, 2023. "Minimum Wage Policy and Inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 12931, Inter-American Development Bank.
    2. von Schiller, Armin, 2015. "Party System Institutionalization and Reliance on Personal Income Tax in Developing Countries," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 7351, Inter-American Development Bank.
    3. Caruso, Germán & Scartascini, Carlos & Tommasi, Mariano, 2015. "Are we all playing the same game? The economic effects of constitutions depend on the degree of institutionalization," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 212-228.
    4. Pessino, Carola & Izquierdo, Alejandro & Vuletin, Guillermo, 2018. "Better Spending for Better Lives: How Latin America and the Caribbean Can Do More with Less," IDB Publications (Books), Inter-American Development Bank, number 9152, March.
    5. Mounir Mahmalat & Declan Curran, 2020. "Fractionalization and reform: a framework of political collaboration with application to Lebanon," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 187-214, June.
    6. María Franco Chuaire & Carlos Scartascini & Mariano Tommasi, 2017. "State capacity and the quality of policies. Revisiting the relationship between openness and government size," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 133-156, July.
    7. Mariano Tommasi & Germán Caruso & Carlos Scartascini, 2014. "Are We Playing the Same Game? The Economic Effects of Constitutions Depend on the Degree of Institutionalization," Working Papers 116, Universidad de San Andres, Departamento de Economia, revised Dec 2014.
    8. Armin von Schiller, 2017. "Party system institutionalization and reliance on personal income tax: Exploring the relationship using new data," WIDER Working Paper Series 032, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    9. Mariano Tommasi & Carlos Scartascini & Ernesto Stein, 2014. "Veto players and policy adaptability: An intertemporal perspective," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 26(2), pages 222-248, April.
    10. Becerra, O. & Cavallo, E. & Scartascini, C., 2012. "The politics of financial development: The role of interest groups and government capabilities," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 626-643.
    11. Armin von Schiller, 2017. "Party system institutionalization and reliance on personal income tax: Exploring the relationship using new data," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2017-32, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    12. Xianjun Wang & Junfang Kang, 2023. "Decision Making and Influencing Factors in Withdrawal of Rural Residential Land-Use Rights in Suzhou, Anhui Province, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-20, February.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    political institutions; public policies; government capabilities; intertemporal cooperation; judicial independence; party institutionalization; congressional capabilities; : bureaucratic quality :;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • D78 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Positive Analysis of Policy Formulation and Implementation
    • H10 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - General
    • H50 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - General
    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General

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