Modeling Politics with Economic Tools: A Critical Survey of the Literature

January 1, 2001

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Format: Chicago

Jan-Peter Olters. Modeling Politics with Economic Tools: A Critical Survey of the Literature, (USA: International Monetary Fund, 2001) accessed December 22, 2024

Disclaimer: This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF.The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate

Summary

Whereas the economics discipline possesses a highly refined theoretical apparatus to analyze the effects of government behaviour on the economy, it has not (yet) managed to fully develop a positively formulated "economic theory of politics" that would permit the integration of the decision-making processes of voters, parties and governments with those of consumers and firms. Considerable recent advances notwithstanding, the large and heterogeneous body of literature has (so far) remained outside the economic mainstrain. The paper surveys the main approaches used to endogenize democratic elements and assesses the underlying reasons for researchers' renewed interest in this field.

Subject: Business cycles, Economic growth, Inflation, Labor, National accounts, Personal income, Prices, Unemployment, Unemployment rate

Keywords: Business cycles, Center-left government, Endogenous politics, Full employment, Government behavior, Inflation, North America, Objective function, Optimal government behavior, Personal income, Phillips curve, Policy menu, Political business cycles, Unemployment, Unemployment rate, Utility function, Welfare economics, Western Europe, WP

Publication Details

Pages:

63
Volume:

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DOI:

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Issue:

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Series:

Working Paper No. 2001/010
Stock No:

WPIEA0102001
ISBN:

9781451842692
ISSN:

1018-5941

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