Dr. Gordon C. Rausser recently joined with esteemed colleagues Johan Swinnen and Pinhas Zusman to write Political Power and Economic Policy: Theory, Analysis, and Empirical Applications. This book analyzes the links between political economics, governance structures, and the distribution of political power in economic policy making. The book theoretically explains and empirically quantifies these interactions. The analysis includes both public good policies and redistributive policies. Part 1 of the book presents the conceptual foundations of political-economic bargaining and interest group analysis. After presenting the underlying theory, Part 2 of the book examines ideology, prescription, and political power coefficients; Part 3 analyzes a number of specific structures; and Part 4 presents a framework for political econometrics with a number of empirical applications and testable hypotheses. In all four parts of the book, four analytical dimensions of public policy are distinguished: governance structures, political economy, mechanism design, and incidence.
Selected Editorial Reviews
- George A. Akerlof, Nobel Laureate in Economics, concluded, “Gordon Rausser et al’s Political Power and Economic Policy tells us what everybody wants to know in this new world where lobbying and political maneuvers have replaced economic sense. What is the relation between economic rationality and political maneuvering? And how do we contain the interest groups that have trumped the public well-being to accomplish their selfish ends?”
- Justin Yifu Lin, The World Bank, stated, “Rausser, Swinnen, and Zusman have produced an authoritative text that is likely to remain a standard reference for many years to come. They examine how political power, interest groups, and institutions affect the allocation of resources and the distribution of income in static and dynamic frameworks. The volume contains applications to policy issues from R& D to quality standards, land reform, and natural resource management.”
- John List, University of Chicago, provided, “A fascinating gem that once picked up is difficult to put down. It makes difficult materials in political economy easily accessible, and is quite useful for the practitioner.”
To see more reviews for Political Power and Economic Policy: Theory, Analysis, and Empirical Applications, click here.