Is Populism Necessarily Bad Economics?
AEA Papers and Proceedings
vol. 108,
May 2018
(pp. 196-99)
Abstract
I distinguish between political and economic populism. Both are averse to agencies of restraint, or, equivalently, delegation to technocrats or external rules. In the economic domain, delegation to independent agencies (domestic or foreign) occurs in two different contexts: (i) in order to prevent the majority from harming itself in the future and (ii) in order to cement a redistribution arising from a temporary political advantage for the longer-term. Economic policy restraints that arise in the first case are desirable; those that arise in the second case are much less so.Citation
Rodrik, Dani. 2018. "Is Populism Necessarily Bad Economics?" AEA Papers and Proceedings, 108: 196-99. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20181122Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D72 Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
- E61 Policy Objectives; Policy Designs and Consistency; Policy Coordination