The distribution of direct public funding to political parties is based on two criteria: (1) performance at the election (funding per vote), or (2) representation in the parliament (funding per seat). Using a two-party group turnout model, we compare the effect of the two funding systems on...

According to the Merger Guidelines, the Antitrust Authority has to challenge an anticompetitive merger. These guidelines, however, neglect the parties' litigation costs during trial. We analyze under which circumstances these costs are so high that the agency's intervention is inefficient.

The first-order approach in rank-order tournaments is addressed. It is demonstrated that the conditions given in the literature are not sufficient to guarantee concavity of agents' objective functions. Additional conditions are provided that ensure validity of the first-order approach.