The author integrates constitutional constraints in a model of electoral control of politicians. Two types of politicians compete for office: angels, who never misuse power, and knaves, who abuse delegated power. Political theory suggests that constitutional constraints and elections are...

We examine roll call votes on gun control in the U.S. House of Representatives during the 1980s to determine whether political action committees (PACs) make spot market purchases, prepay for votes in the prior election cycle, or make long-term investments. Previous tests generally employ PAC...

Objective: In 1978 Congress weakened several key provisions of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which had been enacted only five years earlier. The objective is to compare alternative explanations for this policy reversal. Methods: Probit and multinomial logit models are used to explain...

The rising cost of hurricanes and other natural hazards has been a concern to policy makers and insurance industry executives. We offer a heretofore overlooked explanation for rising hurricane damages—the reduction in fatalities from hurricanes. Improved hurricane forecasts, more extensive...

Advertising imperfectly translates viewer preferences into demand for programming, and evaluating the quality of news products is difficult for consumers. Consequently the ability of market forces to supply high quality news is a subject of continuing debate. This paper offers new evidence on...

I investigate conditions under which a regime and opposition can negotiate the democratic transformation of an authoritarian government using an extensive form game of perfect information. An early final decision by the regime to hold elections, which can be accomplished by delegating this...