Political Leaders’ Socioeconomic Background and Public Budget Deficits: Evidence from OECD Countries

This paper empirically analyses the relationship between political leaders’ socioeconomic backgrounds and public budget deficits utilising panel data on 21 OECD countries from 1980 to 2008. Building on sociological, as well as economic, research, we argue that the socioeconomic status of political d...

Cur síos iomlán

Sábháilte in:
Sonraí bibleagrafaíochta
Foilsithe in:MAGKS - Joint Discussion Paper Series in Economics (Band 08-2013)
Príomhchruthaitheoirí: Hayo, Bernd, Neumeier, Florian
Formáid: Alt
Teanga:Béarla
Foilsithe / Cruthaithe: Philipps-Universität Marburg 2013
Ábhair:
Rochtain ar líne:An téacs iomlán mar PDF
Clibeanna: Cuir clib leis
Níl clibeanna ann, Bí ar an gcéad duine le clib a chur leis an taifead seo!
Cur síos
Achoimre:This paper empirically analyses the relationship between political leaders’ socioeconomic backgrounds and public budget deficits utilising panel data on 21 OECD countries from 1980 to 2008. Building on sociological, as well as economic, research, we argue that the socioeconomic status of political decision-makers, i.e., presidents or prime ministers, is an important determinant of fiscal budget decisions. Our theory-consistent findings show that the tenures of lower-class leaders—i.e., leaders of low socioeconomic status—are associated with a deficit-to-GDP ratio which is 1.6 percentage points higher than that during tenures of upperclass leaders.
ISSN:1867-3678
DOI:10.17192/es2024.0171