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Ideology and the growth of US state government

Author

Listed:
  • Andrew C. Pickering

    (University of York)

  • James Rockey

    (University of Leicester)

Abstract

This paper analyzes the impact of ideology on the size of US state governments. Following Pickering and Rockey (2011) this impact is hypothesized to increase with mean state income. This idea is tested using state-level ideology data derived from the voting behavior of state congressional representatives. Empirically the interaction of ideology and mean income is a key determinant of state government size. At 1960s levels of income the impact of ideology is negligible. At 1997 levels of income a one standard-deviation move towards the left of the ideology spectrum increases state government size by about half a standard deviation. Estimated income elasticities differentiated by state and time are found to be increasing with ideology and diminishing with income, as predicted by the theory.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew C. Pickering & James Rockey, 2012. "Ideology and the growth of US state government," Working Papers 2012/6, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    • Handle: RePEc:ieb:wpaper:doc2012-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Christian Bjørnskov & Niklas Potrafke, 2013. "The size and scope of government in the US states: does party ideology matter?," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 20(4), pages 687-714, August.
    2. Manoel Bittencourt, 2018. "Young Democracies and Government Size: Evidence from South America," Working Papers 329, Economic Research Southern Africa.
    3. Francois Facchini, 2018. "What Are the Determinants of Public Spending? An Overview of the Literature," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 46(4), pages 419-439, December.
    4. Harry Pickard, 2018. "Does Congressional experience in US governors influence state transfers?," Working Papers 2018014, The University of Sheffield, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Ideology; Wagner's law; size of government;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • H10 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - General

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