UC San Diego

This dissertation examines three topics in political economy. Chapter 1 studies electoral cycles in public sector employment around US gubernatorial elections. Chapter 2 investigates the well-known fact that the US economy grew faster during Democratic presidencies and to what extent this phenomenon generalizes with respect to state-level elected offices. Chapter 3 studies how the use of best-worst voting rules influences the strategic position-taking behavior of political candidates in a spatial election model.