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Electoral Fiscal Policy in New, Old, and Fragile Democracies

Author

Listed:
  • Adi Brender

    (Bank of Israel.)

  • Allan Drazen

    (Department of Economics, 3105 Tydings Hall, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
    NBER
    CEPR)

Abstract

We review research on political budget cycles across countries, including recent findings that they are a phenomenon of new democracies and are statistically insignificant in old, established democracies. We then consider what may account for this and review several hypotheses. Recent empirical work also finds that voters in new democracies do not reward election-year deficit spending, raising questions about explanations focusing on the use of election-year deficits to gain votes. This suggests that the increase in election-year expenditures and deficits in new democracies may reflect other motives. Specifically, it is suggested that they may reflect attempts to shore up a fragile democracy.

Suggested Citation

  • Adi Brender & Allan Drazen, 2007. "Electoral Fiscal Policy in New, Old, and Fragile Democracies," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 49(3), pages 446-466, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:compes:v:49:y:2007:i:3:p:446-466
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Jakob de Haan & Franziska Ohnsorge & Shu Yu, 2023. "Election-Induced Fiscal Policy Cycles in Emerging Market and Developing Economies," CESifo Working Paper Series 10868, CESifo.
    2. Paulo Jorge Reis Mourao, 2012. "The Weber-Fechner Law and Public Expenditures Impact to the Win-Margins at Parliamentary Elections," Prague Economic Papers, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2012(3), pages 291-308.
    3. Endrit Lami, 2023. "Political Budget Cycles in the Context of a Transition Economy: The Case of Albania," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 65(2), pages 221-262, June.
    4. Cassette, Aurélie & Creel, Jérôme & Farvaque, Etienne & Paty, Sonia, 2013. "Governments under influence: Country interactions in discretionary fiscal policy," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 79-89.
    5. Daron Acemoglu & Tuomas Pekkarinen & Kjell G. Salvanes & Matti Sarvimäki, 2021. "The Making of Social Democracy: The Economic and Electoral Consequences of Norway’s 1936 Folk School Reform," NBER Working Papers 29095, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Endrit Lami & Drini Imami, 2019. "Electoral Cycles of Tax Performance in Advanced Democracies," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo, vol. 65(3), pages 275-295.
    7. Lee, Dongwon & Min, Sujin, 2021. "Defective democracy and the political budget cycle," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(4), pages 947-961.
    8. Can Sever & Emekcan Yucel, 2021. "Electoral Cycles in Inequality Abstract:," Working Papers 2021/01, Bogazici University, Department of Economics.
    9. Jakob Haan & Jeroen Klomp, 2013. "Conditional political budget cycles: a review of recent evidence," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 157(3), pages 387-410, December.
    10. Nadezda Stanova, 2012. "Democratic learning and fiscal rules in the political budget cycles of the CEE countries," International Journal of Economic Policy in Emerging Economies, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 5(2), pages 168-182.
    11. Eric Dubois, 2016. "Political Business Cycles 40 Years after Nordhaus," Post-Print hal-01291401, HAL.
    12. Sever, Can & Yücel, Emekcan, 2022. "The effects of elections on macroprudential policy," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 507-533.
    13. Eric Dubois, 2016. "Political business cycles 40 years after Nordhaus," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 166(1), pages 235-259, January.
    14. Klien, Michael, 2014. "Tariff increases over the electoral cycle: A question of size and salience," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 228-242.
    15. Abel L. Costa Fernandes & Paulo R. Mota, 2013. "The Euro Zone Peripheral Countries’ Sovereign Debt Crisis: Also a Case of Non-Mature Democracies?," Panoeconomicus, Savez ekonomista Vojvodine, Novi Sad, Serbia, vol. 60(3), pages 291-310, May.
    16. Eric Dubois, 2016. "Political Business Cycles 40 Years after Nordhaus," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-01291401, HAL.
    17. Michael Klien, 2015. "The political side of public utilities: How opportunistic behaviour and yardstick competition shape water prices in Austria," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 94(4), pages 869-890, November.
    18. Can Sever & Emekcan Yucel, 2020. "Macroprudential Policy and Elections: What Matters? Abstract:," Working Papers 2020/01, Bogazici University, Department of Economics.
    19. Abel L. Costa Fernandes & Paulo R. Mota, 2012. "The Present Sovereign Debt Crisis Of The Euro Zone Peripheral Countries: A Case Of Non-Mature Democracies And Less Developed Economies," FEP Working Papers 458, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto.
    20. George Petrakos & Konstantinos Rontos & Luca Salvati & Chara Vavoura & Ioannis Vavouras, 2022. "Toward a political budget cycle? Unveiling long-term latent paths in Greece," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 56(5), pages 3379-3394, October.

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