Theories in political economy depend critically on assumptions about motivations of politicians. Our analysis starts … from the premise that politicians, like other economic agents, are rational individuals who make career decisions by … wage or the imposition of term limits would affect the career decisions of politicians and the returns to a career in …

"Two main career paths are prevalent among politicians in modern democracies: there are career politicians (i ….e., politicians who work in the political sector until retirement), and political careers (i.e., there are politicians who leave … careers of politicians in an environment with a private sector and a political sector, where individuals are heterogeneous …

a political party may deliberately choose to recruit only mediocre politicians, in spite of the fact that it could … afford to recruit better individuals who would like to become politicians. We argue that this finding may contribute to …