The Power of the Purse: Presidential Power and Cabinet Volatility in Ecuador

• In Event: Re-thinking the Latin American Presidency in the 21st Century

Abstract

Existing models of fiscal governance argue that, in presidential systems, presidents and their finance ministers have predominance over the allocation and reallocation of budgetary resources across ministries, especially during the budget formulation and execution stages. Yet, little empirical research has been done regarding the impact that executive power has over cabinet stability and political survival of ministers. This paper combines these datasets to explore whether higher budget volatility is also associated with cabinet volatility, and whether this in turn, is associated with higher fiscal deficits.

Author

• Andrés Mejía-Acosta, Kings College London