A large literature on government spending notes that new democracies generally change their spending patterns in favor of social spending to build support and in response to constituency demand. Yet, curiously, studies of new democracies also reveal volatility in their party system development...

Applicability of Wagner's hypothesis to six East Asian countries is studied for a period of nearly a half-century during which their economic growth has often been termed as a "miracle". Despite the high rates of growth in most cases, there is little indication to support the hypothesis except...