The literature has identified that countries with higher levels of openness tend to present a larger government sector … between openness and the size of government might be mediated by the quality of its public sector. While countries with weak … government capabilities will tend to rely on spending expansions to deal with trade-induced volatility, countries with stronger …

Voters would be better off if they removed politicians offering low-quality government by pursuing populist policies … and re-elected those who improved government quality with sustainable policies. In many political contexts, including … against those governments, no voter has an incentive to select politicians who promise high-quality government. By the same …