What happens if they hold politicians accountable for both their policy decisions and the state of the economy?67 With these incentives, politicians who want to retain power need to keep their eyes on two balls, not one. If voters’ beliefs about effective policy were correct, this would be easy, because the two balls would be fused together. But in the real world, politicians face a visual challenge: keeping their eyes on two balls flying in different directions. If leaders ignore the public’s policy preferences, they will be thrown out of office no matter how good economic conditions are. If
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