EconPapers    
Economics at your fingertips  
 

Voting on the Budget Deficit

Alberto Alesina and Guido Tabellini

No 269, CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers

Abstract: This paper analyzes a model in which different rational individuals vote over the composition and time profile of public spending. Potential disagreement between current and future majorities generates instability in the social choice function that aggregates individual preferences. In equilibrium a majority of the voters may favor a budget deficit. The size of the deficit under majority rule tends to be larger, the greater is the polarization between current and potential future majorities. The paper also shows that the ex ante efficient equilibrium of this model involves a balanced budget. A balanced budget amendment, however, is not durable under majority rule.

Keywords: Balanced Budget; Budget Deficit; Government Spending; Majority Rule; Political Parties; Social Choice (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1988-09
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=269 (application/pdf)
CEPR Discussion Papers are free to download for our researchers, subscribers and members. If you fall into one of these categories but have trouble downloading our papers, please contact us at subscribers@cepr.org

Related works:
Journal Article: Voting on the Budget Deficit (1990) Downloads
Working Paper: Voting on the Budget Deficit (1990) Downloads
Working Paper: Voting on the Budget Deficit (1988) Downloads
Working Paper: Voting on the Budget Deficit (1988) Downloads
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:269

Ordering information: This working paper can be ordered from
http://www.cepr.org/ ... pers/dp.php?dpno=269

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers Centre for Economic Policy Research, 33 Great Sutton Street, London EC1V 0DX.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by ().

 
Page updated 2025-03-19
Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:269