This paper develops a comprehensive theory of support for democracy. Building on instrumental and culturalist approaches, the theory argues that experience with democracy conditions the extent to which economic and political performance inform support. Specifically, it argues that the extent to...

This paper explores the factors behind the time path of real spending and revenue in the West German states from 1975 to 2004. The empirical approach stresses robustness and takes into account a large set of economic and political variables. Our results suggest that common economic factors and,...