Traditionally, the demand for public expenditures has been estimated using
for explanatory variables the average values of per capita income, as well as
other variables. The results of this approach are disappointing, due to the
lack of a theoretical basis. The public choice model, on the other hand,
uses the political decision-making process (median voter model) to explain
expenditures. Taking the same set of data, it can be shown that the public
choice approach yields superior results. It also offers a solution to the
unfruitful discussion about the influence of "political" determinants of
public expenditures
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