Elections and UK government expenditure cycles in the 1980s: an empirical analysis

This paper tests whether there exists any significant difference in the res ponsiveness of UK government expenditure policy to changes in national inco me and unemployment in pre- and post-election periods. The absence of such a political effect would see the national income and unemployment elasticit ies for government expenditure bring uniform over an election period. The e mpirical analysis deliberately covers the three UK Conservative governments between 1979 and 1992 when academic debate on the implications of discreti onary policy for the economy and social welfare were particularly prominent and when it appeared that political rhetoric concurred with the academic p rescriptions.