When do voters win? In this paper we derive conditions under which a democracy will produce policies that favor the voter over special interests. We show that increasing political competition, increasing office holding benefits, decreasing potential rents to firms and increasing the salience of...

Two heterogeneous agents contribute over time to a joint project, and collectively decide its scope. A larger scope requires greater cumulative effort and delivers higher benefits upon completion. We show that the efficient agent prefers a smaller scope, and preferences are time-inconsistent: as...

This paper presents a theory of optimal multilateral trade agreements with public political shocks. Optimal multilateral agreements exhibit "forbearance'' – where one country withholds retaliation when its trading partner receives a shock. This provides a rationale for countries not acting on...