This book offers a pluralistic vision of the way economists have dealt with the question of power in society over the last two centuries. Economists’ ideas about power are examined from political, theoretical and policy-making points of view, with additional discussion of the active...

We provide a general framework for the analysis of the dynamics of institutional change (e.g., democratization, extension of political rights or repression of different groups), and how these dynamics interact with (anticipated and unanticipated) changes in the distribution of political power...

We consider a model of policy choice in which appropriate policies depend on a country's own circumstances, but the presence of a successful leader generates an informational externality and results in too little 'policy experimentation.' Corrupt governments are reined in while honest...

When a stabilization has significant distributional implications (as in the case of tax increases to eliminate a large budget deficit) different socio-economic groups will attempt to shift the burden of stabilization onto other groups. The process leading to a stabilization becomes a "war of...

While much research in political economy points out the benefits of "limited government," political scientists have long emphasized the problems created in many less developed nations by "weak states," which lack the power to tax and regulate the economy and to withstand the political and social...

In this paper we analyze empirically the most important implications of two family political economy models of inflation: the "myopic? government approach and the "weak" government approach. In myopic government models inflation is the deliberate outcome of politicians strategic behavior, while...

Einführung -- Einführung -- Allokationstheoretische Grundlagen -- Ziele staatlicher Wirtschaftspolitik -- Allokationstheorie und Wirtschaftspolitik -- Grundlagen der politischen Ökonomie -- Grundmodelle der direkten und der indirekten Demokratie -- Theorie wirtschaftspolitischer Reformen --...

The standard approach to policy-making and advice in economics implicitly or explicitly ignores politics and political economy, and maintains that if possible, any market failure should be rapidly removed. This essay explains why this conclusion may be incorrect; because it ignores politics,...

Die Strategie Dieses Buches -- Methodische Grundlagen -- Wohlfahrtstheoretische Grundlagen -- Marktversagen und Gefangenen-Dilemma -- Kollektive Entscheidungen -- Markt und Wettbewerb -- Die Regulierung NatÜrlicher Monopole -- Externe Effekte, ClubgÜter und Das Allmende-Problem --...