Military Service of Politicians, Public Policy, and Parliamentary Decisions

Title data

Stadelmann, David ; Portmann, Marco ; Eichenberger, Reiner:
Military Service of Politicians, Public Policy, and Parliamentary Decisions.
In: CESifo Economic Studies. Vol. 64 (2018) Issue 4 . - pp. 639-666.
ISSN 1610-241X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/cesifo/ify006

Official URL:

Abstract in another language

How do politicians with past military service decide on societal issues? We explore the voting behavior of parliamentarians in the informative institutional setting of Switzerland with a conscription army. Our setting allows controlling for voter preferences and party ideology. Results show that politicians who have served in the military do not differ from those who have not served when comparing their voting behavior on issues related to female welfare and welfare of the weak and disabled. However, politicians who have served in the military tend to have a higher probability to accept proposals on neutrality and a lower probability to accept proposals linked to international human rights and the environment. We explore differences with respect to military ranks and ideological positions within parties and find that having chosen to serve in higher military ranks is associated with a differential voting pattern. This suggests that motivation for the military affects voting in parliament. (JEL codes: D72, F52, H56)

Further data

Item Type:	Article in a journal
Refereed:	Yes
Institutions of the University:	Faculties > Faculty of Law, Business and Economics > Department of Economics Faculties > Faculty of Law, Business and Economics > Department of Economics > Professor Economics with a focus on development economics > Professor Economics with a focus on development economics - Univ.-Prof. Dr. David Stadelmann Profile Fields > Emerging Fields > Governance and Responsibility Faculties Faculties > Faculty of Law, Business and Economics Faculties > Faculty of Law, Business and Economics > Department of Economics > Professor Economics with a focus on development economics Profile Fields Profile Fields > Emerging Fields
Result of work at the UBT:	Yes
DDC Subjects:	300 Social sciences > 320 Political science 300 Social sciences > 330 Economics
Date Deposited:	25 Oct 2019 13:04
Last Modified:	25 Oct 2019 13:04
URI:	https://eref.uni-bayreuth.de/id/eprint/52837