POLITICS AND THE PURSUIT OF FAME

Humans strive after fame, especially in politics. We construct a model in which the executive is motivated by fame as well as the desire to hold office. The fame of an executive is based on his or her achieveme nts relative to all prior executives. Periods of great uncertainty for a nation make politicians more likely to pursue fame rather than reel ection. We show that fame incentives weaken as a country ages. If poli ticians are wiser than the median voter, then the pursuit of fame by p oliticians improves welfare, and the diminution of fame incentives ove r time causes national decline.