Abstract Normative theories of democracy agree that public demand should be the main guide in policymaking. But positive and related empirical research disagree about extent to which this holds true reality. We address debate with an focus on climate change policy. Specifically, we are interested whether observable variation for mitigation can help explain adopted national policies. Using our o...

A key issue in monetary policymaking is the appropriate division of labor between the profes­ sional staff of the central bank and the appointed policymakers. Lars E. O. Svensson (1999) argues that the appropriate role of a policymaking group, such as the Federal Open Market Com­ mittee (FOMC) in the United States, is to make judgments about social welfare, taking as given the likely outcomes o...

With baby boomers entering old age and longevity increasing, policymakers have focused on the physical, social, and health needs of older persons. We urge policymakers to consider cognitive aging as well, particularly normal, age-related memory decline. Psychological scientists attribute memory decline mainly to cognitive overload stemming from age-related reductions in sensory capacities, spee...

We study the best sustainable equilibrium in an economy with non-benevolent policymakers who lack commitment and have private information. In this environment, households discipline policymakers by threatening to remove them from power. Policymakers are never replaced and there are no distortions to production if there is perfect information. We present three results which emerge once private i...

INTRODUCTION State-level policymakers play an important role in the fight against obesity because of their ability to create policies that influence opportunities for physical activity and nutrition. OBJECTIVE In 2011, we investigated how Kansas policymakers regarded obesity, nutrition, and physical activity in comparison to other issues. DESIGN This study used a cross-sectional design. S...

Monetary policy objectives and targets are not necessarily constant over time. The regime-switching literature has typically analyzed and interpreted changes in policymakers’ behavior through simple interest rate rules. This paper analyzes policy regime-switches by explicitly modeling policymakers’ behavior and objectives. We show that changes in the parameters of simple rules do not necessaril...