“It’s the economy, stupid!” Is it? And, if so, what aspect of economy performance? Contrasting the outcome of the recent Israeli election with, for example, high turnover of governments in Australia, the Washington Post asked why the why some world leaders keep getting reelected while others do not. While non-economic factors clearly play a role, the article points out the conventional wisdom on the importance of economic factors play a role with a simple caveat. Research by Professor Allan Drazen suggests that in developed economies inflation may be especially important, while economic growth is more important in election outcomes for new democracies.
