This paper analyses the political constraints of intergenerational risk sharing. The rst result is that the political process generally does not lead to ex ante optimal insurance. The second result is that in a second best political setting PAYG still contributes to intergenerational risk...

In this paper we consider spanning tree problems, where n players want to be connected to a source as cheap as possible. We introduce and analyze (n!) vertex oriented construct and charge procedures for such spanning tree situations leading in n steps to a minimum cost spanning tree and a cost...

This paper proposes that reforms by vote-seeking governments and the existence of reform-adverse voters are logically compatible. This results from a commitment problem on the part of voters. Due to economic voting voters cannot credibly commit to reelect a non-reforming government during a...

A costly signaling model is presented in which we show how campaign expenditures can buy votes. The model shows that the amount of campaign expenditures may convey the electorate information about the candidate’s intended policy. When this model is extended to allow for a contributing interest...

This paper analyzes the political economy of the reform process theoretically and empirically.Building on the framework developed by Rodrik [1995], a two-sector model of a transition economy is constructed.This model is then used to study the dynamics of political support for the reforms.The key...

We examine international fiscal coordination in a world where markets are integrated but national governments are sovereign. Consequences of the liberalization of the capital market on national fiscal policies and possible remedies to resulting ine¢ciencies are analyzed. A simple model, with N...

Der vorliegende Beitrag trägt einige empirische Belege zum Verhältnis von wirtschaftspolitischer Beratung und ökonomischer (Spitzen-)Forschung in Deutschland zusammen, um die fortwährende Debatte über dieses Verhältnis mit einer - wenn auch nur etwas - breiteren Datenbasis zu versehen....

The objectives of government are pivotal to understanding the diverse negative effects of corruption on public welfare. Corruption renders governments unable or unwilling to maximize welfare. In the first case, it distorts agents decisions and limits the contractual space available to agents and...

In economics and other social sciences, complex processes are often represented by numerical models of reality which more or less well reflect behavioral relationships and interactions. Such attempts are the subject of a lecture course 'Mathematical Theory of Democracy' by the author at the...

A setting in which customer-owned mutual companies converted to publicly listed firms created a plausibly exogenous shock to salience of stock ownership. We use this shock to identify the effect of stock ownership on political behavior. Using IV regressions, difference-in-differences analyses,...