This book develops an
integrated approach to understanding the American economy and national elections. Economic
policy is generally seen as the result of a compromise between the President and Congress.
Because Democrats and Republicans usually maintain polarised preferences on policy, middle
of the road voters seek to balance the President by reinforcing in Congress the party not
holding the White House. This balancing leads, always, to relatively moderate policies
and, frequently, to divided government. The authors outline the rational partisan business
cycle, where Republican administrations begin with recessions, and Democratic ones with
expansions, and the midterm cycle, where the President's party loses votes in the
midterm congressional election. The book argues that both cycles are the result of
uncertainty about the outcome of presidential elections. Other topics covered include
retrospective voting on the economy, coat-tails, and incumbency advantage.
Contents
1. Introduction;
2. Models of policy
divergence;
3. A theory of institutional
balancing;
4. The midterm cycle;
5. Diversity, persistence,
and mobility;
6. Incumbency and
moderation;
7. Partisan business cycles;
8. The President, Congress,
and the economy;
9. Economic growth and
national elections in the United States: 1915-88; 1
10. Partisan economic policy
and divided government in parliamentary democracies
246 pages