한국 정치시장의 특성과 정치개혁과제

An empirical analysis on the characteristics of political market in Korea

A political market can be defined as a market where public services are provided by politicians and consumed by voters. To a large extent, the characteristics and efficiency of a market is determined by the existence and the degree of entry barriers to that market. As entry to a political market occurs through elections, the degree of entry barriers to such political markets can be identified by taking a closer look at the electoral processes. Mostly based on empirical evidence from Korea's general elections, this paper analyses the characteristics of political markets in Korea. According to the our analyses, a clear difference in the election rates among candidates from the ruling party and opposition parties may be inferred That is, results show that a candidate from the ruling party has a much higher chance of being elected than one from an opposition party. Coupled with an incumbency advantage, the 'ruling party premium' plays a decisive role in the general elections