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Government strength, power dispersion in governments and budget deficits in OECD-countries. A voting power approach

Author

Listed:
  • Huber, Gerald
  • Kocher, Martin G.
  • Sutter, Matthias

Abstract

We test for the influence of government strength and dispersion of power among the parties of coalition governments on the size of annual debt accumulation through budget deficits in OECD-countries from 1970 to 1999. Government strength and power dispersion in coalition governments are measured by the Banzhaf index of voting power, respectively the standard deviation of Banzhaf indices of coalition parties. We believe that these are better-suited proxies than most of what has been applied so far. Government strength turns out to be insignificant. However, coalitions with equally strong partners run significantly higher deficits than coalitions with one dominating party.

Suggested Citation

  • Huber, Gerald & Kocher, Martin G. & Sutter, Matthias, 2003. "Government strength, power dispersion in governments and budget deficits in OECD-countries. A voting power approach," Munich Reprints in Economics 18164, University of Munich, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:lmu:muenar:18164
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    Cited by:

    1. Maria Antoinette Silgoner & Jesús Crespo-Cuaresma & Gerhard Reitschuler, 2003. "The Fiscal Smile: The Effectiveness and Limits of Fiscal Stabilizers," IMF Working Papers 2003/182, International Monetary Fund.
    2. Ricardo Nunes & Davide Debortoli, 2007. "Political Disagreement, Lack of Commitment and the Level of Debt," 2007 Meeting Papers 725, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    3. John Ashworth & Benny Geys & Bruno Heyndels, 2005. "Government Weakness and Local Public Debt Development in Flemish Municipalities," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 12(4), pages 395-422, August.
    4. Sutter, Matthias, 2003. "The Political Economy of Fiscal Policy: An Experimental Study on the Strategic Use of Deficits," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 116(3-4), pages 313-332, September.
    5. Ibrahim Tutar & Aysit Tansel, 2012. "An Analysis Of Political And Institutional Power Dispersion: The Case Of Turkey," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 30(4), pages 548-565, October.
    6. Gerald Pech, 2004. "Coalition Governments Versus Minority Governments: Bargaining Power, Cohesion and Budgeting Outcomes," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 121(1), pages 1-24, October.
    7. Bernardo Bortolotti & Paolo Pinotti, 2008. "Delayed privatization," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 136(3), pages 331-351, September.
    8. Puspa D. Amri & Thomas D. Willett, 2017. "Policy Inconsistencies and the Political Economy of Currency Crises," Journal of International Commerce, Economics and Policy (JICEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 8(01), pages 1-24, February.
    9. Bharatee Dash & Angara Raja, 2014. "Do political determinants affect revenue collection? Evidence from the Indian states," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 61(3), pages 253-278, September.
    10. John Ashworth & Benny Geys & Bruno Heyndels, 2006. "Everyone likes a winner: An empirical test of the effect of electoral closeness on turnout in a context of expressive voting," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 128(3), pages 383-405, September.
    11. Geert Jennes, 2021. "Interregional fiscal transfers resulting from central government debt: New insights and consequences for political economy," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 74(2), pages 196-223, May.
    12. Ahlborn, Markus & Schweickert, Rainer, 2018. "Public Debt and Economic Growth – Economic Systems Matter," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 15(2), pages 373-403.
    13. Geys, Benny, 2006. "Government weakness and electoral cycles in local public debt: evidence from Flemish municipalities [Regierungsschwäche und Wahlzyklen in Zeiten kommunaler Verschuldung: das Beispiel flämischer Kommunen]," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Market Processes and Governance SP II 2006-06, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    14. Ivo Bischoff & Wolfgang Gohout, 2010. "The political economy of tax projections," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 17(2), pages 133-150, April.
    15. Ana Barreira & Rui Nuno Baleiras, 2000. "Cycles On Public Expenditure Composition Within the European Union," Regional and Urban Modeling 283600004, EcoMod.
    16. Martin Gregor, 2008. "Rozpočtová pravidla a rozpočtový proces: Teorie, empirie a realita České republiky [Budgetary rules and budget process: Theory, empirics, and the case of the Czech Republic]," Politická ekonomie, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2008(4), pages 484-504.
    17. Ringa Raudla, 2010. "Governing budgetary commons: what can we learn from Elinor Ostrom?," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 30(3), pages 201-221, December.
    18. Yesim Kustepeli & Gülcan Önel, 2005. "The Effects of Political Fragmentation on Fiscal Deficits in Turkey," Discussion Paper Series 05/02, Dokuz Eylül University, Faculty of Business, Department of Economics, revised 23 Nov 2005.
    19. 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).
    20. Roel Beetsma & Koen Vermeylen, 2007. "The effect of monetary unification on public debt and its real return," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 133(3), pages 393-415, December.
    21. Markus Ahlborn & Rainer Schweickert, 2018. "Public debt and economic growth – economic systems matter," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 373-403, April.
    22. Mohamed Mansour & Eric Kamwa, 2024. "Lack of consensus, dispersion of political power and public debt: evidence from a sample of developed countries," Post-Print hal-04177030, HAL.
    23. Marek Hanusch, 2012. "Coalition incentives for political budget cycles," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 151(1), pages 121-136, April.
    24. G. Arévalo-Iglesias & M. Álvarez-Mozos, 2020. "Power distribution in the Basque Parliament using games with externalities," Theory and Decision, Springer, vol. 89(2), pages 157-178, September.
    25. Maxime Menuet, 2020. "Is a Long War Desirable? Optimal Debt Concessions in Attrition Warfare," Annals of Economics and Statistics, GENES, issue 139, pages 105-130.

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