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Political rents in a non-corrupt democracy

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Author Info
Svaleryd, Helena
Vlachos, Jonas

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Abstract

A fundamental problem in all political systems is that the people in power may extract rents to the detriment of the general public. In a democracy, electoral competition and information provided by the media may keep such rent extraction at bay. We develop a simple model where rents are decreasing in the degree of political competition and voter information. In line with our theoretical predictions, we find that both increased political competition and increased local media coverage substantially reduce direct measures of legal political rents among local governments in a non-corrupt democracy (Sweden).

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File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6V76-4TVHSHM-1/2/ef9c107df0a31881a916942f1a6c294e
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Publisher Info
Article provided by Elsevier in its journal Journal of Public Economics.

Volume (Year): 93 (2009)
Issue (Month): 3-4 (April)
Pages: 355-372
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Handle: RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:93:y:2009:i:3-4:p:355-372

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Web page: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/505578

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Keywords: Accountability Political competition Media Political rents;

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  3. Reinikka, Ritva & Svensson, Jakob, 2004. "The power of information : evidence from a newspaper campaign to reduce capture," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3239, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
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  11. Per Pettersson-Lidbom, 2001. "An Empirical Investigation of the Strategic Use of Debt," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 109(3), pages 570-583, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  14. Besley, Timothy J. & Persson, Torsten & Sturm, Daniel M, 2005. "Political Competition and Economic Performance: Theory and Evidence from the United States," CEPR Discussion Papers 5138, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  15. Rudiger Ahrend, 2002. "Press Freedom, Human Capital and Corruption," DELTA Working Papers 2002-11, DELTA (Ecole normale supérieure). [Downloadable!]
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  17. Di Tella, Rafael & Fisman, Raymond, 2004. "Are Politicians Really Paid Like Bureaucrats?," Journal of Law & Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 47(2), pages 477-513, October.
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