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Supermajority rule and bicameral bargaining

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  • Dongwon Lee

    (Sungkyunkwan University)

Abstract

This paper revisits the claim that supermajority rules and bicameral legislative structures restrain excessive government spending and taxation. Our analysis suggests that the extension effect of a supermajority rule—that requires logrolling across additional members—increases with the ratio of seats in the House relative to seats in the Senate. Using a panel of US states, 1970–2008, we find that the ratio of House-to-Senate seats has a robust, positive impact on the tendency of a supermajority rule to inflate the budget. Our finding implies that a supermajority rule can have a perverse effect on budget outcomes in bicameral legislatures owing to two factors: the geographic overlap between chambers and the low price elasticity of demand for public goods.

Suggested Citation

  • Dongwon Lee, 2016. "Supermajority rule and bicameral bargaining," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 169(1), pages 53-75, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:pubcho:v:169:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1007_s11127-016-0369-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s11127-016-0369-9
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    Cited by:

    1. Mahajan, Aseem & Pongou, Roland & Tondji, Jean-Baptiste, 2023. "Supermajority politics: Equilibrium range, policy diversity, utilitarian welfare, and political compromise," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 307(2), pages 963-974.
    2. Paul Pecorino, 2018. "Supermajority rule, the law of 1/n, and government spending: a synthesis," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 175(1), pages 19-36, April.
    3. Kuehn, Daniel, 2021. "James Buchanan, Gordon Tullock, and the “Radically Irresponsible” One Person, One Vote Decisions," OSF Preprints zetq4, Center for Open Science.
    4. Dongwon Lee & Sangwon Park, 2018. "Court-ordered redistricting and the law of 1/n," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 176(3), pages 507-528, September.
    5. Alptekin, Huzeyfe & Freire, Danilo & Mignozzetti, Umberto Guarnier & Roman, Catarina, 2020. "The Effect of Legislature Size on Public Spending: A Meta-Analysis," SocArXiv xf7wp, Center for Open Science.
    6. De Santo, Alessia & Le Maux, Benoît, 2023. "On the optimal size of legislatures: An illustrated literature review," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Supermajority rule; Bicameral legislatures; Legislative bargaining; Budget institutions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • H72 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Budget and Expenditures

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