Doctoral defence: Nino Kokashvili “Public sector evolution under conditions of political business cycle – theory and empirical evidence“

On 21 June at 11:00 Nino Kokashvili will defend her doctoral thesis “Public sector evolution under conditions of political business cycle – theory and empirical evidence” for obtaining the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (in Economics).

Supervisors:
Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. (emeritus) Peter Joachim Friedrich
Professor Kadri Ukrainski, University of Tartu

Opponents:
Professor Dr. rer. pol. Karl Morasch, University of Bundeswehr Munich (Germany)
Professor Dr. Chang Woon Nam, University of Applied Management (Germany)

Summary
Political processes and economic activities are interdependent. Understanding political factors in developing, analyzing and judging economic policy, especially factors related to the public sector, is far more complex than identified in the literature.

Public reforms are part of the political process, which involves many actors and interest groups, such as political parties, elected officials, voters, lobbyists, foreign politicians and the media. It also functions alongside many institutions, such as legislative bodies, courts, electoral campaigns, international organizations, bureaucratic institutions, financial institutions and banks. Understanding all the interactions simultaneously in a single course is an impossible task. However, establishing a broader theory that explains the changes in the public sector in relation to political shifts, such as the model formulated in this thesis, is the first step to unlocking other doors in this direction.

This thesis integrates political business cycle theory with the evolutionary processes of the public sector by developing a novel macroeconomic model. The thesis is also empirically oriented. It identifies the empirical trends in European countries, provides a case study of the United Kingdom and compares the findings of the theoretical model with the empirical observations of the processes.

The thesis shows that the formation and implementation of policies in the public sector are fundamentally political. Parties in power that develop and pass reforms function in a political system that shapes their actions. Economic conditions, specifically the size of public and private sectors and the ratio between them, are important determinants of election results. Voters’ preferences are directly related to policy choice on public sector. Policy choice, which is shaped by political factors, is also influenced by economic indicators.

Defence can be also followed in Teams.