Elect a president, save money

Presidential systems of government cost 10 per cent less than parliaments, according to research by two leading European economists.

In a discussion paper for the Centre for Economic Policy Research, Torsten Persson, professor of economics at the Institute for International Economic Studies in Stockholm, and Guido Tabellini, professor of economics at Universita Bocconi in Milan, argue that presidential systems of government produce stiffer competition among politicians, which in turn induces them to spend less on every budget item, resulting in smaller government.