The Political Economy of Public Spending Decisions and Macroeconomic Performance

Abstract

This paper provides a political-economy analysis of the dynamics of public spending decisions. We propose a simple dynamic model of macroeconomic policymaking that explicitly incorporates the policymaker's strategic decision regarding the composition of public expenditure. By utilizing this framework, we show that policymakers' choice for one type of spending over the other plays a key role in determining the effects of fiscal policy on macroeconomic performance. Furthermore, our analysis suggests that the scale of corruption in an economy is likely to be associated with lower quality public investment and, as a result, with an inferior macroeconomic outcome. © International Economic Society.