Information, polarization and term length in democracy
Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › fagfællebedømt
This paper considers term lengths in a representative democracy where the political issue divides the population on the left-right scale. Parties are ideologically different and better informed about the consequences of policies than voters are. A short term length makes the government more accountable, but the re-election incentive leads to policy-distortion as the government seeks to manipulate swing voters' beliefs to make its ideology more popular. This creates a trade-off: A short term length improves accountability but gives distortions. A short term length is best for swing voters when the uncertainty is large and parties are not very polarized. Partisan voters always prefer a long term length. When politicians learn while in office a long term length becomes more attractive for swing voters.
Originalsprog | Engelsk |
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Tidsskrift | Journal of Public Economics |
Vol/bind | 92 |
Udgave nummer | 5-6 |
Sider (fra-til) | 1078-1091 |
Antal sider | 14 |
ISSN | 0047-2727 |
DOI | |
Status | Udgivet - 2008 |
Bibliografisk note
JEL classification: D72, H1, H7, K4
ID: 3798074