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Term Limits and Electoral Accountability

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Author Info
Michael Smart
Daniel M. Sturm

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Abstract

Periodic elections are the main instrument through which voters can hold politiciansaccountable. From this perspective term limits, which restrict voters' ability to rewardpoliticians with re-election, appear counterproductive. We show that despite the discipliningeffect of elections, term limits can be ex ante welfare improving from the perspective ofvoters. By reducing the value of holding office term limits can induce politicians toimplement policies that are closer to their private preferences. Such "truthful" behavior byincumbents in turn results in better screening of incumbents. We show that the combinationof these two effects can strictly increase the utility of voters.

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Paper provided by Centre for Economic Performance, LSE in its series CEP Discussion Papers with number dp0770.

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Date of creation: Dec 2006
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Handle: RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp0770

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Related research
Keywords: Political Agency Accountability Term Limits

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Models of Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government

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    Other versions:
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    Other versions:
  4. Timothy Besley & Robin Burgess, 2002. "The Political Economy Of Government Responsiveness: Theory And Evidence From India," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 117(4), pages 1415-1451, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  21. Lopez, Edward J, 2003. " Term Limits: Causes and Consequences," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 114(1-2), pages 1-56, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Richard E. Baldwin & Frédéric Robert-Nicoud, 2007. "Protection for Sale Made Easy," CEP Discussion Papers dp0800, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Claudio Ferraz & Frederico Finan, 2007. "Electoral Accountability and Corruption in Local Governments: Evidence from Audit Reports," IZA Discussion Papers 2843, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  3. Ferraz, Claudio & Finan, Frederico, 2008. "Motivating Politicians: The Impacts of Monetary Incentives on Quality and Performance," IZA Discussion Papers 3411, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  4. Gautam Gowrisankaran & Matthew F. Mitchell & Andrea Moro, 2008. "Electoral Design and Voter Welfare from the U.S. Senate: Evidence from a Dynamic Selection Model," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 11(1), pages 1-17, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Phongthorn Wrasai, 2005. "Politicians' Motivation, Role of Elections, and Policy Choices," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 05-050/1, Tinbergen Institute. [Downloadable!]
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