Principal-agent problems can arise when preferences of voters are not aligned with preferences of political representatives. Often the consequence of the political principal-agent problem is political catering to special interests. In this paper I provide examples of principal-agent problems...

We examine how cultural norms shape attitudes toward immigration. Our causal identification relies on comparing students who moved across the East-West border after German reunification with students who moved within former East Germany. Students who moved from East to West became more positive...

Fiscal rules are controversial. They mitigate politicians' flexibility in responding to shocks and pursuing expansionary fiscal policy. They help, however, to handle politicians' commitment problem in fiscal policies. I portray the new and fast growing empirical literature in public economics...