New research challenges assumptions about how competing political parties interact during elections. Using a spatial autoregressive model and data from 22 advanced democracies (1957-2006), this paper demonstrates that parties with greater economic policymaking roles increase their focus on the economy as conditions worsen. A surprising finding is evidence of "spatial contagion," where parties respond positively to similar strategies by rivals, revealing a stronger link between party competition and public attention to economics than previously thought.
This work has important implications for understanding voter behavior and campaign dynamics in modern politics.
