The Politics of Economic Growth, Once Again

Papers by Lange and Garrett and by Jackman have debated whether the political and economic power of the left influences economic growth in the western industrial democracies. Most recently, Hicks (1988) has concluded that they do, once Lange and Garrett's model is modified, despite my claim to the contrary. This paper shows that there is no evidence for the claims advanced by Hicks. First, I demonstrate that Hicks's elementary revision is misguided and insufficient to salvage the Lange-Garrett hypothesis. Second, I establish that the estimates for his expanded model are not robust, but instead depend entirely on influential observations. Third, I review some crucial theoretical issues that are misconstrued both by Lange and Garrett and by Hicks and suggest an alternative approach to the politics of economic growth.