Inefficient Policies and Incumbency Advantage

Details

Serval ID
serval:BIB_D20B11AE446B
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Title
Inefficient Policies and Incumbency Advantage
Journal
Journal of Public Economics
Author(s)
Hodler R., Loertscher S., Rohner D.
ISSN
0047-2727
Publication state
Published
Issued date
10/2010
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
94
Number
9-10
Pages
761-767
Language
english
Abstract
We present a model of (re)elections in which an incumbency advantage arises because the incumbent can manipulate issue salience by choosing inefficient policies in the policy dimension in which he is the stronger candidate. The voters are uncertain about the state of the world and the incumbent's choice of policy. Under complete information they would reelect the incumbent if and only if the state is sufficiently high. Undesirable policy outcomes may be due to either a bad state or the incumbent's choice of inefficient policies. The incumbent uses inefficient policies in intermediate states, whereby he creates uncertainty about the true state in such a way that voters are better off in expectation reelecting him. Hence the equilibrium exhibits an incumbency advantage that stems from asymmetric information and the use of inefficient policies.
Keywords
Elections, Incumbency advantage, Political economics
Web of science
Create date
16/10/2012 14:59
Last modification date
20/08/2019 16:52
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