TY - UNPB

T1 - Political Competition and Polarization

AU - Schultz, Christian

PY - 1996

Y1 - 1996

N2 - This paper considers political competition and the consequences of political polarization when parties are better informed about how the economy functions than voters are. Specifically, parties know the cost producing a public good, voters do not. An incumbent's choice of policy acts like a signal for costs before an upcoming election. It is shown that the more polarized the political parties the more distorted the incumbent's policy choice.

AB - This paper considers political competition and the consequences of political polarization when parties are better informed about how the economy functions than voters are. Specifically, parties know the cost producing a public good, voters do not. An incumbent's choice of policy acts like a signal for costs before an upcoming election. It is shown that the more polarized the political parties the more distorted the incumbent's policy choice.

M3 - Working paper

BT - Political Competition and Polarization

PB - Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen

ER -