This paper surveys the extensive literature that seeks to estimate the effect of the initiative and referendum on public policy. The evidence on the referendum uniformly finds that requiring voter approval for new spending (or new debt) results in lower spending (or lower debt). The initiative...

Firstly, two seemingly unrelated topics of Russian politics are investigated. It is shown that under expected utility maximization the assumptions of an unbiased oil forward market and a risk-acceptant attitude (strictly convex utility function) of president Putin are sufficient to explain...

Contemporary politics in most western countries can be modeled with two dominant left and right factions, with some third parties, some of whom are non-interventionists. Although unsuccessful, they occasionally claim widespread support. Treating such claims as valid I develop a model of...

The capture theory of regulation concludes that regulatory agencies tend to be captured by the firms they are regulating. This paper tests the capture theory in the recent environment of nuanced agency regulation by the administrative state, focusing on the U.S. oil refining industry. Regulation...

This paper analyzes agreements between governments that determine the division of policy-making power between central and regional governments. Our analysis demonstrates that initial circumstances and political risks affect the degree of centralization that will be adopted, and that asymmetric...

When we think back to the financial crisis which has been over for a few years now, we can only see the negative aspects. However, the positive aspects are incontestable. One of these aspects is represented by the efforts of making the public administrative processes more efficient. Managers of...

The current economic crisis has called for huge fiscal efforts to avoid a deflationary spiral. In the context of the crisis, the national fiscal frameworks may play an important role in sustaining budgetary retrenchment. Therefore, the need for a fiscal consolidation, meaning a well-designed...

This paper provides a theoretical description for the adoption of turn-taking in office where two or more individuals are elected to a committee to serve individual terms for the same public office, with the exclusive right to exercise the public office rotating, exclusively, among the members...

Can an electorate use the projected life expectancy of a lifetime-appointed executive to enforce binding, informal term limits? Informal term limits, based on the life expectancy of an executive candidate at election, would enable an electorate to exercise discretion in adjusting tenure lengths...