Recent Articles


"Democratic values and institutions" forthcoming in American Economic Review Insights (with T. Besley).
In PDF format (0.3 MB)
Abstract

"Education and military rivalry", forthcoming in Journal of the European Economic Association (with P. Aghion and D. Rouzet)
In PDF format (0.3 MB)
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"Gender quotas and the crisis of the mediocre man: Theory and evidence from Sweden"  American Economic Review 107, 2204-2242, 2017 (with T. Besley, O. Folke and J. Rickne)
In PDF format (0,6 MB)
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Web Appendix

"Who becomes a politician?" Quarterly Journal of Economics 132, 1877-1914, 2017 (with E. Dal Bó, F. Finan, O. Folke and J. Rickne)
In PDF format (1.7 MB)
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"Dynastic political rents" Economic Journal 127, F495-517, 2017 (with O. Folke and J. Rickne)
In PDF format (0.9 MB)
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"The primary effect: Preference votes and political promotions" American Political Science Review 110, 559-578, 2016 (with O. Folke and J. Rickne)
In PDF format (1 MB)

"Resilient leaders and institutional reform: Theory and evidence" Economica 83, 584-623, 2016 (with T. Besley and M. Reynal-Querol)
In PDF format (0.3 MB)
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"The causes and consequences of development clusters: State capacity, peace and income", Annual Review of Economics 6, 927-948, 2014 (with T. Besley)
Full text working paper version (1.3 MB)
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 "Weak states and steady states: The dynamics of fiscal capacity" American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics 5, 205-235 (with T. Besley and E. Ilzetzki)
In PDF format (5.3 MB)
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"Taxation and Develoment" in Auerbach, A, R. Chetty, M. Feldstein, and E. Saez (eds.)  Handbook of Public Economics, 2013 (with T. Besley)
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"Fragile states and development policy" Journal of the European Economic Association 9, 371-398, 2011 (with T. Besley)
Full text working paper version (0.5 MB)
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The logic of political violenc", Quarterly Journal of Economics 126, 1411-1445, 2011(with T. Besley)
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"Political competition, policy and growth: Theory and evidence from the United States", Review of Economic Studies 77, 1329-1352, 2010 (with T. Besley and D. Sturm) 
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"State capacity, conflict and development", Econometrica 78, 1-34, 2010 (with T. Besley)
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 "Repression or Civil War", American Economic Review 99, Papers and Proceedings, 292-297, 2009 (with T. Besley)
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 "Democractic capital: The nexus of political and economic change", American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics 1, 88-126, 2009 (with G. Tabellini
Full text working paper version (0.4 MB)
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 "The origins of state capacity: Property rights, taxation, and policy", American Economic Review 99, 1218-1244, 2009 (with T. Besley)
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 "The growth effects of democracy: Is it heterogenous and how can it be estimated?", in Helpman, E. (ed.), Institutions and Economic Performance, Harvard University Press, 2008 (with G. Tabellini)
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"Wars and state capacity", Journal of the European Economic Association 6, 522-530, 2008 (with T. Besley)
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"Electoral rules and government spending in parliamentary democracies", Quarterly Journal of Political Science 2, 155-188, 2007 (with  G. Roland and G. Tabellini)
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"Economic approaches to political institutions", forthcoming in Durlauf, S. and L. Blume (eds.), New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2007, 2nd Edition, McMillan.
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"Democracy and development: The devil in the details", American Economic Review 96, Papers and Proceedings, 319-324, 2006 (with G. Tabellini). 
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"Time consistency of fiscal and monetary policy: A solution", Econometrica 74, 193-212, 2006 (with M. Persson and L.E.O. Svensson)
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"Electoral systems and economic policy", in Weingast, B. and D. Wittman, (eds.), Handbook  of Political Economy (Oxford), 2006 (with G. Tabellini).
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"Consequences of constitutions", Journal of European Economic Association 2, 139-161, 2004. 
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"Constitutions and economic policy", Journal of Economic Perspectives 18, 75-98, 2004 (with G. Tabellini)
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"Constitutional rules and fiscal policy outcomes" American Economic Review  94, 25-46, 2004 (with G. Tabellini)
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"Electoral rules and corruption",  Journal of the European Economic Association 1, 958-989, 2003 (with G. Tabellini and F. Trebbi)
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"Markets with Asymmetric Information: The Contributions of George Michael Spence and Joseph Stiglitz" Scandinavian Journal of Economics,  104(2) 195-211, 2002 (with K-G. Lofgren and J.W. Weibull).
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"Do constitiutions cause large governments? Quasi-experimental evidence? European Economic Review 46, 2002, 908-918 (with G. Tabellini).
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Dataset

"Do political institutions shape economic policy?",  Econometrica 70, 2002, 883-905.
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Political economics and public finance", in Auerbach, A. and M. Feldstein (eds.), Handbook of Public Economics, Vol III, North-Holland: Amsterdam, 2002,  (with G. Tabellini).
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"Lobbying and legislative bargaining", Advances in Economic Analysis and Policy 1, 2001 (with E. Helpman).
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"Currency unions and trade: How large is the treatment effect?" in Economic Policy 33, 433-448, 2001.
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"Comparative politics and public finance",  in Journal of Political Economy 108, 1121-1161, 2000 (with G.Roland and G. Tabellini).
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"Political economics and macroeconomic policy", in Taylor, J. and M. Woodford (eds.), Handbook of Macroeconomics, North-Holland: Amsterdam, 2000 (NBER Working Paper No. 6329) (with G. Tabellini).
Full text of introduction
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"The size and scope of government: Comparative politics with rational politicians", 1998 Marshall Lecture, in European Economic Review 43, 699-735, 1999 (NBER Working Paper No. 6848) (with G. Tabellini)
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Dataset available.

"Towards micropolitical foundations of public finance," European Economic Review 42, 685-694, 1998 (with G. Roland and G. Tabellini).
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"Economic policy and special interest politics," Economic Journal, 108, 310-327, 1998 (NBER Working Paper No. 6329).
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"Separation of powers and political accountability," Quarterly Journal of Economics 112 (4), 1163-1202, 1997 (with G. Roland and G. Tabellini).
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Debt, cash flow and inflation incentives: A Swedish example," in The Debt Burden and its Consequences for Monetary Policy, 28-62, MacMillan: London, 1998, (with M. Persson and L. Svensson).
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"The theory of fiscal federalism: What does it mean for Europe?," in Siebert, H. (ed.), Quo Vadis Europe?, 1997, J.C.B. Mohr: Tübingen (with G. Roland and G. Tabellini).

"Federal fiscal constitutions: Risk sharing and redistribution," Journal of Political Economy 104, 979-1009, 1996 (with G. Tabellini).
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"Monetary cohabitation in Europe", American Economic Review 86, 111-116, 1996
(with G. Tabellini). Longer version available as NBER Working paper, No. 5532.
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"Federal fiscal constitutions: Risk sharing and moral hazard," Econometrica 64, 623-646, 1996 (with G. Tabellini).
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"Double-edged incetives: Institutions and policy coordination," Chapter 38 in Grossman, G. and K. Rogoff (eds.), Handbook of International Economics, Vol III, North-Holland: Amsterdam, 1995 (with G. Tabellini).

"Is inequality harmful for growth?" American Economic Review 84, 600-621, 1994
(with G. Tabellini).
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Dataset available

"Does centralization increase the size of government?" European Economic Review 38, 765-773, 1994 (with G. Tabellini).
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"Representative democracy and capital taxation," Journal of Public Economics 55, 53-70, 1994 (with G. Tabellini).
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"The Swedish business cycle: Stylized facts over 130 years," in Bergström, V. and A Vredin (eds.) FIEF Studies in Labor Markets and Economic Policy: Measuring and Interpreting Business Cycles, 9-113, Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1994 (with J. Hassler, P. Lundvik and
P. Söderlind).
Dataset available