11 research outputs found
Political Accountability Under Alternative Institutional Regimes
We analyze the interaction between electoral accountability and separation-of-powers by comparing three regimes: âUnilateral Authorityâ (the President has exclusive decision-making power); âMandatory Checksâ (the President cannot change policy without congressional assent); and âOpt-in Checksâ (the President may seek congressional authorization or act unilaterally). We find: (1) voters use asymmetric electoral rewards and punishments to offset the risk of politician bias, but voters rely less on this blunt instrument if there are internal checks; (2) adding a veto player need not alter the ex ante likelihood of policy change; and (3) voter welfare is highest under Opt-In Checks and lowest under Unilateral Authority.electoral accountability; formal theory; separation of powers