Politicians

Politicians are persons involved in the process of public policymaking in their role as members of governments, parliaments, political parties, and other political bodies at the (sub)national level (e.g., local government, state legislature, national parliament, etc.) as well as within the supranational political arena (e.g., United Nations Security Council, European Union institutions, and so on). Many politicians get into office through a democratic election, while others are selected or appointed to a public office. For many politicians politics is a full-time job, while for others it remains an activity in addition to a main job as a lawyer, teacher or entrepreneur. This entry takes stock of what Law & Economics (LE) scholars have contributed to the large social science literature on politicians