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Democracy of "Taxation-Redistribution" and Peacetime Budget Deficit

Author

Listed:
  • Konstantin Yanovskiy

    (Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy)

  • Sergey Zhavoronkov

    (Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy)

  • Dmitry Shestakov

    (Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy)

Abstract

The link between an introduction of the universal suffrage and the growth of government spending has been established in some literature (Meltzer, Richard, 1981, Aidt et al., 2006, Funk and Guthmann, 2006). In this article we try to identify a more detailed mechanism behind that link. So, we addressed to the conflict of interest of bureaucrats, and of the state subsidy beneficiaries. Historically the growth of government spending might be traced to the emergence of mainstream left parties, which openly stood in favor of the nanny state and government help from the cradle to the grave[1] as a priority over the provision of pure public goods. Finally we check the hypothesis that the growth of government care correlates with the chronic illnesses of the modern state finance like budget deficit, state debt and inflation.

Suggested Citation

  • Konstantin Yanovskiy & Sergey Zhavoronkov & Dmitry Shestakov, 2013. "Democracy of "Taxation-Redistribution" and Peacetime Budget Deficit," Working Papers 0078, Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy, revised 2013.
    • Handle: RePEc:gai:wpaper:0078
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Universal Suffrage; Left parties; Budget Deficit; Conflict of Interest.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • H62 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt - - - Deficit; Surplus
    • N40 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - General, International, or Comparative

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