Universal Suffrage: The Century of Corrupting Incentives?

New Perspectives on Political Economy Vol. 14, No 1-2, 2018, pp. 63-89

33 Pages Posted: 15 Aug 2019 Last revised: 17 Mar 2020

See all articles by Konstantin Yanovskiy

Konstantin Yanovskiy

Shomron Center for Economic Policy Research

Sergei Zhavoronkov

Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy

Date Written: August 12, 2018

Abstract

Conflict of interest of welfare dependent voter creates wrong incentives. These incentives inherent to universal suffrage, yield consequences, as predicted by John Adams back in the 18-th century. Historically the rise of the modern welfare state might be traced to the emergence of mainstream left parties, which promoted government care “from the cradle to the grave”. This paper will address the damages to Democracy caused by conflict of interest, which led to irresponsible leadership and permanent peacetime budget deficit. Historical examples from the 1990s show possible escapes from the trap of universal suffrage.

Keywords: Universal Suffrage, Conflict of Interest, Left Parties, Budget Deficit, Regulations

JEL Classification: D72, D73, H62, N40

Suggested Citation

Yanovskiy, Konstantin (Moshe) and Zhavoronkov, Sergei, Universal Suffrage: The Century of Corrupting Incentives? (August 12, 2018). New Perspectives on Political Economy Vol. 14, No 1-2, 2018, pp. 63-89, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3436438 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3436438

Konstantin (Moshe) Yanovskiy (Contact Author)

Shomron Center for Economic Policy Research ( email )

Kley Shir 8
Karney Shomron, 44855

Sergei Zhavoronkov

Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy ( email )

3-5 Gazetny Lane
Moscow, 125009
Russia

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
131
Abstract Views
1,264
Rank
415,731
PlumX Metrics