Life, Literacy, and the Pursuit of Prosperity: Party & Policy in the 50 States

• In Event: Legislative Effectiveness and Representation

Abstract

In this paper, we ask whether party competition promotes economic development and improves social outcomes, drawing on new evidence from the 50 American states over the last century. Our evidence includes data on party competition, state spending, and measures of health, education, and prosperity, drawn from each of the states for the period 1880-2010. With this expansive new dataset, we find that states with competitive party systems do, in fact, spend more, even after controlling for an array of other variables—and specifically spend more in education, transportation, and health and sanitation. This finding is consistent with the idea, advanced by V. O. Key in Southern Politics, that competitive parties tend to promote broad public policies, with special emphasis on policies that invest in human capital. We find, next, that this spending leads to longer life expectancy, lower levels of infant mortality, and higher incomes. Thus we conclude that party competition is not just healthy for a political system but for the life prospects of a state’s residents.

Authors

• Gerald Gamm, University of Rochester

• Thad Kousser, University of California, San Diego