Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
submittedVersion
Publication Date
1-2018
Abstract
While legislatures typically use majority rule to allocate a budget in distributive legislation, near-unanimous consent over the broad allocation of benefits is pervasive. I develop a game-theoretic model where players strategically interact in a universal coalition to determine allocations, with non-cooperative bargaining as a threat point for the breakdown of cooperation. To quantify the effects of political power and actual needs on the agreed-upon allocation, I structurally estimate the model using the "Bridge Bill Capital Budget" in 1992. I find that 9.58% of the budget would be allocated differently if allocations were determined only based on actual needs.
Keywords
Universalism, Distributive legislation, Legislative bargaining
Discipline
Political Economy
Research Areas
Applied Microeconomics
Publication
International Economic Review
First Page
1
Last Page
46
ISSN
0020-6598
Identifier
10.1111/iere.12307
Citation
KOH, Yumi.
Universalism and the Value of Political Power. (2018). International Economic Review. 1-46.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soe_research/2035
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1111/iere.12307