Political Myopia: Focus on Short Term Issues in Legislation

Political myopia plagues political institutions around the world. In democracies, this problem is particularly acute because of frequent elections. Using a methodology that sorts laws passed during the last sessions of parliaments in the United States, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom based on the length of time required for quantifiable impact, this paper shows that there is a statistically significant correlation between proximity to elections and focus on issues with short term impact. This correlation holds true for both presidential and parliamentary systems.