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Is there an optimal level of political competition in terms of economic growth? Evidence from Italy

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Abstract

As competition in the economic market yields consumer benefits, political competition is supposed to be welfare-enhancing for citizens in terms promoting competence and good behaviour. Recent literature also underlines its costs, opening the possibility of a non-biunivocal way in which the degree of political competition affects economic growth. The parallel between economic and political competition allows the use of the normalized Herfindahl index as a measure of competition among political parties. Within the Italian regional elections scenario from 1980 to 2008, our findings confirm an inverted-U relationship between the degree of political competition and the regional growth rate. An “optimal” level of political competition allows for a reduction in the trade-off between political accountability and government instability. Moreover, political competition can be used as a “tool” for the growth enhancement of political corruption. However, the question posed by the findings is how to drive political competition to its optimal value. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2015

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  • M. Alfano & A. Baraldi, 2015. "Is there an optimal level of political competition in terms of economic growth? Evidence from Italy," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 39(2), pages 263-285, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:ejlwec:v:39:y:2015:i:2:p:263-285
    DOI: 10.1007/s10657-012-9340-5
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    Cited by:

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    3. Grażyna Bukowska & Joanna Siwińska-Gorzelak, 2016. "Can fiscal decentralisation curb fiscal imbalances?," Working Papers 2016-35, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.
    4. Satya R. Chakravarty & Manipushpak Mitra & Suresh Mutuswami & Rupayan Pal, 2020. "On the probability ratio index as a measure of electoral competition," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 6(1), pages 1-6, December.
    5. Zhihao Yu, 2022. "Why Are Tobacco and Alcohol Control Policies So Different?–A Political-Economy Explanation," Carleton Economic Papers 22-05, Carleton University, Department of Economics.
    6. Ferris, J. Stephen & Voia, Marcel-Cristian, 2023. "Do rival political parties enforce government efficiency? Evidence from Canada 1867–2021," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    7. Yakira Fernández-Torres & Milagros Gutiérrez-Fernández & Julián Ramajo-Hernández, 2018. "Business Regulation And Economic Growth: The Indirect Effect Of Corruption In Latin America And The Caribbean," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 23(01), pages 1-22, March.
    8. Ferrante, Livio & Reito, Francesco & Spagano, Salvatore & Torrisi, Gianpiero, 2021. "Shall we follow the money? Anti-mafia policies and electoral competition," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 43(5), pages 1110-1130.
    9. Vincenzo Alfano & Salvatore Capasso & Lodovico Santoro, 2023. "Corruption and the political system: some evidence from Italian regions," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 9(2), pages 665-695, July.
    10. Datta, Sandip, 2020. "Political competition and public healthcare expenditure: Evidence from Indian states," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 244(C).
    11. Alfano, M. Rosaria & Baraldi, A. Laura & Cantabene, C., 2012. "Political Competition, Electoral System and Corruption: the Italian case," MPRA Paper 41480, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Man, Georg, 2015. "Competition and the growth of nations: International evidence from Bayesian model averaging," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 491-501.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economic growth; Political competition; Herfindahl index; O43; H11; P16;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O43 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Institutions and Growth
    • H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State

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