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Political competition and economic policy: Empirical evidence from Pakistan

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  • Chaudhry, Ahmed
  • Mazhar, Ummad

Abstract

The influence of politics on economic policy is not fully understood. The challenge to ensure political inclusiveness and economic prosperity remains. Perhaps, one way to attain this objective is by increasing political competition. This paper gathers empirical evidence from Pakistan, a country with a checkered political history characterized by episodes of representative, non-representative, and indirectly elected governments. In recent years, the country has witnessed a gradual strengthening of democratic rules with economic progress. Focusing on nine elections held over 1970 to 2015 the authors measure political competition and estimate its impact on economic policy. Contrary to popular conceptions about Pakistan's economy, they find a positive association between lack of political competition and poor economic policy. This finding holds at national as well as subnational levels in Pakistan and withstands a number of robustness tests.

Suggested Citation

  • Chaudhry, Ahmed & Mazhar, Ummad, 2019. "Political competition and economic policy: Empirical evidence from Pakistan," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 13, pages 1-27.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:ifweej:20191
    DOI: 10.5018/economics-ejournal.ja.2019-1
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    Cited by:

    1. Mazhar Ummad & Iftikhar Komal, 2021. "Corruption Accusations and Bureaucratic Performance: Evidence from Pakistan," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 15(1), pages 60-71, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    political competition; Pakistan; economic policy; economic performance; subnational;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation
    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • H31 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Household
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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