The Political Economy of Technocratic Governments

Abstract

This paper proposes a game theoretical model of technocratic government, i.e. cases where a non political technocrat is put in charge by political parties. We find conditions for the existence of a technocratic government equilibrium, where parties agree to delegate the agenda setting power to technocrats, committed to maximize social welfare. Such an equilibrium exists only if technocrats are more competent than ordinary politicians. Furthermore, we show that unstable parliaments increase the range of parameters where a technocratic government equilibrium exists. Polarization can also increase the likelihood of a technocratic government.