The Citizen-Candidate Model with Imperfect Policy Control

Abstract

We examine the two-candidate equilibria of the citizen-candidate model when the implemented policy arises from a compromise between the government and an unelected external power. We show that the equilibria of this model differ significantly from the original: the distance between the candidates’ policies, both ideal and implemented, remains strictly above a threshold. Thus, the median voters’ ideal policy may not obtain in contested elections if policy control is imperfect, even when the cost of running as a candidate is arbitrarily small.

Keywords: elections, polarization, strategic delegation, bureaucracy, foreign influence

JEL Classification: D720, D780, H110