Party Strategies, World Demand, and Unemployment: The Political Economy of Economic Activity in Western Industrial Nations
Whether a change of party control of government in a country with an advanced industrial economy results predictably in a sustained change in its level of aggregate economic activity is continually disputed in economics. While many issues are involved, the central question is whether constraint (environment) or discretion (party control) dominates the explanation of public policy. Party-induced changes in public policy demonstrate accountability in democratic government to a scientist; to an economist they raise the spectre of inefficient outcomes associated with the political business cycle. In addition, since sustained, party-induced effects on economic policy are inconsistent with the assumptions of many macroeconomic models, economists have also stressed the need for rigorous econometric controls before accepting the existence of such effects.
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