Economic Politics: The Costs of Democracy - Hardcover

Keech, William R.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521462061 ISBN 13: 9780521462068

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1995

Synopsis

This book raises and addresses questions about the consequences of democratic institutions for economic performance. Do institutions of accountability inside and outside government through periodic elections produce efficient results, or do they lead to the kind of accumulation of special privileges and protections from market competition that reduces efficiency and growth? Professor Keech suggests that there are modest and bearable costs of democratic procedures, comparable to the agency costs incurred whenever a principal delegates authority to an agent. Democracy, however, does not systematically cause inferior macroeconomic policy detrimental to a population's long-term welfare. Rather, there is a logical circularity among voter preferences, institutions, and economic and political outcomes. This accessible synthesis and sharp perspective will be highly useful for professionals, graduate students, and upper-level undergraduates aiming to understand the relationship between politics and economics.

About this title

From the Back Cover

This book raises and addresses questions about the consequences of democratic institutions for economic performance. Do institutions of accountability inside and outside government through periodic elections produce desired results? Do they lead to manipulation of the economy over an electoral cycle, or to the pursuit of partisan goals at odds with a general societal interest? Drawing upon concrete and observable experience in the United States and occasional reference to other countries, Professor Keech suggests that there are costs of democratic procedures. But these costs are modest and bearable, and similar to the agency costs incurred whenever a principal delegates authority to an agent. Democracy does not systematically cause inferior macroeconomic policy. This inaccessible synthesis and sharp perspective on a large topical literature will be highly useful for professionals, graduate students, upper-level undergraduates, and interested citizens aiming to understand the relationship between politics and economics.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521462061
• ISBN 13: 9780521462068
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256