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Words speak louder than actions: The impact of politics on economic performance

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  • Osterloh, Steffen

Abstract

In this paper, a new approach to disclose the impact of politics on economic growth is presented: we use data derived from content analysis of party manifestos as measures of party preferences. In a panel of 23 OECD countries, we detect a positive impact of party support for various market-liberal policies on economic performance. In particular, we show that parties which were more concerned with market interventions and - to a lesser extent - welfare state policies impacted on growth negatively; those which proposed incentives for business as well as technology and infrastructure had a positive impact. Moreover, the robustness of the results is demonstrated in a model averaging framework.

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  • Osterloh, Steffen, 2010. "Words speak louder than actions: The impact of politics on economic performance," ZEW Discussion Papers 10-092, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:zewdip:10092
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    1. Partiprogram och ekonomisk tillväxt
      by Niclas Berggren in Nonicoclolasos on 2010-12-28 09:57:18

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    5. Dominik Hecker & Dano Meiske & Niklas Potrafke & Marina Riem & Christoph Schinke, 2016. "Schuldenbremsen in den deutschen Bundesländern: Worte und Taten der Landesregierungen," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 69(02), pages 14-22, January.
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    7. François Facchini & Mickael Melki, 2014. "Political Ideology And Economic Growth: Evidence From The French Democracy," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 52(4), pages 1408-1426, October.
    8. Osterloh, Steffen, 2018. "How do politics affect economic sentiment? The effects of uncertainty and policy preferences," VfS Annual Conference 2018 (Freiburg, Breisgau): Digital Economy 181614, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    9. Björn Kauder & Manuela Krause & Niklas Potrafke, 2018. "Electoral cycles in MPs’ salaries: evidence from the German states," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 25(4), pages 981-1000, August.
    10. Lukas Menkhoff, 2022. "Wohlstand schaffen oder verteilen? Ein kurzer Blick auf Wahl- und Regierungsprogramme [Creating or Distributing Prosperity? A Quick Look at Election and Government Programs]," Wirtschaftsdienst, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 102(5), pages 374-378, May.
    11. Pedro Antonio Martín Cervantes & Nuria Rueda López & Salvador Cruz Rambaud, 2020. "The Effect of Globalization on Economic Development Indicators: An Inter-Regional Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-18, March.
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    13. Pedro Antonio Martín Cervantes & Nuria Rueda López & Salvador Cruz Rambaud, 2020. "The Relative Importance of Globalization and Public Expenditure on Life Expectancy in Europe: An Approach Based on MARS Methodology," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-20, November.
    14. Hazwan Haini & Pang Wei Loon, 2021. "Does Government Ideology Affect the Relationship Between Government Spending and Economic Growth?," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 40(3), pages 209-216, September.
    15. Jiang, Jiangang & Zhang, Jianhong, 2023. "Does political ideology matter in Chinese cross-border acquisitions?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
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    17. Potrafke, Niklas, 2017. "Partisan politics: The empirical evidence from OECD panel studies," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(4), pages 712-750.
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    19. Alexander Libman, 2015. "Words or deeds: what matters? On the role of symbolic action in political decentralization," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 49(3), pages 801-838, November.
    20. Belloc, Filippo & Nicita, Antonio & Sepe, Simone M., 2014. "Disentangling liberalization and privatization policies: Is there a political trade-off?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(4), pages 1033-1051.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    economic growth; political economy; ideology; panel data; model averaging;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General
    • 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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