Political Pandering and Bureaucratic Influence

This paper examines the impact of bureaucracy on policy implementation in environments where electoral incentives generate pandering. A two-period model is developed to analyze the interactions between politicians and bureaucrats, who are categorized as either aligned -- sharing the voters' preferences over policies -- or intent on enacting policies that favor elite groups. The findings reveal equilibria in which aligned politicians resort to pandering, whereas aligned bureaucrats either support or oppose such behavior. The analysis further indicates that, depending on parameters, any level of bureaucratic influence can maximize the voters' welfare, ranging from scenarios with an all-powerful to a toothless bureaucracy.