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You Get What You Vote For: Electoral Determinants of Economic Freedom

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  • Eric Crampton

    (George Mason University)

Abstract

While several cross-sectional studies (La Porta et. al. 2002, Norton 2002) examine institutional and cultural determinants of economic freedom, changes in economic freedom remain unexamined. I construct a measure of median voter preferences and find changes in voter preferences for economic freedom to be a significant determinant of changes in economic freedom in a panel of 25 OECD countries. The voter preference measure is robust to several alternative specifications, including the addition of institutional variables.

Suggested Citation

  • Eric Crampton, 2002. "You Get What You Vote For: Electoral Determinants of Economic Freedom," Public Economics 0211003, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:wpa:wuwppe:0211003
    Note: Type of Document - pdf; pages: 21 ; figures: tables included. This paper contains some initial results that will be included in the second chapter of my dissertation. The paper is forthcoming in the Journal of Private Enterprise. I am expanding on this work; comments and suggestions are quite welcome.
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jan-Egbert Sturm & Jakob De Haan, 2001. "How robust is the relationship between economic freedom and economic growth?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(7), pages 839-844.
    2. de Haan, Jakob & Sturm, Jan-Egbert, 2000. "On the relationship between economic freedom and economic growth," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 215-241, June.
    3. Easton, Stephen T & Walker, Michael A, 1997. "Income, Growth, and Economic Freedom," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(2), pages 328-332, May.
    4. James D. Gwartney & Robert A. Lawson & Randall G. Holcombe, 1999. "Economic Freedom and the Environment for Economic Growth," Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 155(4), pages 643-643, December.
    5. Jac C. Heckelman, 2000. "Economic Freedom and Economic Growth: A Short-run Causal Investigation," Journal of Applied Economics, Universidad del CEMA, vol. 3, pages 71-91, May.
    6. de Haan, Jakob & Sturm, Jan-Egbert, 2003. "Does more democracy lead to greater economic freedom? New evidence for developing countries," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 547-563, September.
    7. Herbert G. Grubel, 1998. "Economic Freedom and Human Welfare: Some Empirical Findings," Cato Journal, Cato Journal, Cato Institute, vol. 18(2), pages 287-304, Fall.
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    Cited by:

    1. Joshua C. Hall, 2016. "Institutional convergence: exit or voice?," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 40(4), pages 829-840, October.
    2. Mark C. Schug & M. Scott Niederjohn & William C. Wood, 2006. "Your Credit Counts Challenge: A Model Program for Financial Education for Low and Moderate Income Adults," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 22(Spring 20), pages 196-208.
    3. J. Patrick Mullins, 2009. "The Right of Private Judgment: Jonathan Mayhew's Religious Route to Political Individualism," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 24(Spring 20), pages 101-111.
    4. Jamie Bologna & Joshua C. Hall, 2014. "Economic Freedom Research: Some Comments and Suggestions," Working Papers 14-23, Department of Economics, West Virginia University.
    5. Ryan H. Murphy, 2019. "The long‐run effect of government ideology on economic freedom," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(1), pages 101-114, February.
    6. John A. Tures, 2006. "Are We Taking Certain Liberties by Assuming a Relationship Exists Between Economic and Political Freedom?," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 22(Fall 2006), pages 22-36.
    7. Robert A. Lawson & Ryan Murphy & Benjamin Powell, 2020. "The Determinants Of Economic Freedom: A Survey," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 38(4), pages 622-642, October.
    8. Stephen C. Miller, 2009. "Economic Bias and Ideology: Evidence from the General Social Survey," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 25(Fall 2009), pages 31-49.
    9. Stringham, Edward Peter, 2011. "Embracing morals in economics: The role of internal moral constraints in a market economy," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 78(1-2), pages 98-109, April.
    10. George R. Crowley & John A. Dove & Daniel Sutter, 2017. "Voter Preferences, Institutions, And Economic Freedom," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 35(1), pages 76-92, January.
    11. Hall Joshua C. & Lawson Robert A. & Wogsland Rachael, 2011. "The European Union and Economic Freedom," Global Economy Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 11(3), pages 1-16, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economic Freedom; Median Voter; Manifesto Data; Voter Preferences;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • D78 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Positive Analysis of Policy Formulation and Implementation
    • 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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