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Do Businessmen Make Good Governors?
Report

Do Businessmen Make Good Governors?

Ifo Working Paper No. 230

Florian Neumeier
Ifo, 2016
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Analytical
  • Innovative

Recommendation

In the United States, most prominent politicians have a law degree, extensive political experience, or both. But as the country’s 2016 presidential election showed, career politicians do not always have the upper hand; people with business backgrounds also can win elections. Yet substantial debate continues about how well a business career translates into public service. This illuminating report from economist Florian Neumeier methodically tracks the records of “CEO governors” and quantifies their economic results. getAbstract recommends this empirical study of a speculative discussion to public servants and voters, as well as to businesspeople considering a run for public office.

Take-Aways

  • Some observers of the political scene believe that businesspeople bring valuable skills to public governance, but others think that the economic results of “CEO governors” often fall short of hyped expectations.
  • Research on the administrations of 446 US governors between 1960 and 2009 finds that candidates with a business background were more likely to win elections during tough economic times.
  • CEO governors achieved a statistically significant improvement in their state economies, compared to their political counterparts.

About the Author

Florian Neumeier is an economist at the Ifo Institute in Munich, Germany.

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