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Election Systems, the "Beauty Premium" in Politics, and the Beauty of Dissent

Potrafke, Niklas; Rösch, Marcus; Ursprung, Heinrich - 2020

We ask three questions. First, do election systems differ in how they translate physical attractiveness of candidates into electoral success? Second, do political parties strategically exploit the “beauty premium” when deciding on which candidates to nominate, and, third, do elected MPs use...

Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012227636

Supermajorities and Political Rent Extraction

Kauder, Björn; Potrafke, Niklas - 2015

Models of political competition portray political candidates as seeking the support of the median voter to win elections by majority voting. In practice, political candidates seek supermajorities rather than majorities based on support of the median voter. We study the political benefits from...

Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10011388195

Electoral Cycles in Perceived Corruption: International Empirical Evidence

Potrafke, Niklas - 2018

I examine whether elections influence perceived corruption in the public sector. Perceived corruption in the public … sector is measured by the reversed Transparency International’s Perception of Corruption Index (CPI). The dataset includes … perceived corruption in the public sector increased before elections. The effect is especially pronounced before early elections …

Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10011957209

Outside Earnings, Absence, and Activity: Evidence from Germany Parliamentarians

Arnold, Felix; Kauder, Björn; Potrafke, Niklas - 2014

We examine moonlighting by politicians in Germany. In July 2007, the German Supreme Court adjudicated that members of parliament (MPs) have to publish details of their outside earnings. Using panel data models, we investigate how outside earnings are correlated with absence and parliamentary...

Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10010398625

Does Public Sector Outsourcing Decrease Public Employment? Empirical Evidence from OECD Countries

Potrafke, Niklas - 2018

I examine the extent to which public sector outsourcing relates to public employment in OECD countries. I use new panel data on public sector outsourcing. The sample includes 26 countries over the period 2009-2015. Contrary to common expectations, the results do not suggest that public sector...

Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10011932072

Human Capital and National Institutional Quality: Are TIMSS, PISA, and National Average IQ Robust Predictors?

Jones, Garett; Potrafke, Niklas - 2014

Is human capital a robust predictor of good institutions? Using a new institutional quality measure, the International Property Rights Index (IPRI), we find that cognitive skill measures are significant, robust, and large in magnitude. We use two databases of cognitive skills: estimates of...

Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10010398530

Trade Openness and Income Inequality: New Empirical Evidence

Dorn, Florian; Fuest, Clemens; Potrafke, Niklas - 2021

We examine how trade openness influences income inequality within countries. The sample includes 139 countries over the period 1970-2014. We employ predicted openness as instrument to deal with the endogeneity of trade openness. The effect of trade openness on income inequality differs across...

Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012657909

Globalization and Income Inequality Revisited

Dorn, Florian; Fuest, Clemens; Potrafke, Niklas - 2018

This paper re-examines the link between globalization and income inequality. We use data for 140 countries over the period 1970-2014 and employ an IV approach to deal with the endogeneity of globalization measures. We find that the link between globalization and income inequality differs across...

Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10011794198

Corruption and Economic Growth: New Empirical Evidence

Gründler, Klaus; Potrafke, Niklas - 2019

The nexus between corruption and economic growth has been examined for a long time. Many empirical studies measured … corruption by the reversed Transparency International’s Perception of Corruption Index (CPI) and ignored that the CPI was not … 2012-2018 and re-examine the nexus between corruption and economic growth. The cumulative long-run effect of corruption on …

Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012141017

Minority Positions in the German Council of Economic Experts: A Political Economic Analysis

Potrafke, Niklas - 2013

I investigate minority votes in the German Council of Economic Experts. The dataset contains information on the voting behavior of the council members over the period 1971-2011. The results show that the best predictor of minority voting is being nominated by the trade unions: a council member...

Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10010293922