In contrast to previous empirical work on electoral cycles, which implicitly assumes the executive has full discretion over fiscal policy, this paper contends that under separation of powers an unaligned legislature may have a moderating role. Focusing on the budget surplus, we find that...

La política fiscal es el resultado de un proceso de decisión colectivo. Este proceso está más institucionalizado en las democracias constitucionales donde es clave la competencia electoral entre partidos para definir qué políticas se van a llevar a cabo. Si bien el votante mediano es...

Can limited government be a driving force of economic development? This idea goes back to Montesquieu, and is closely related to recent research in institutional economics. Measuring limited government with the Henisz political constraints index, and economic development with income per capita,...