Showing o: Promise and peril in unilateral policymaking

Presidents have substantial unilateral policymaking powers in the United States despite constitutional provisions for checks and balances. I study how electoral concerns encourage o ceholders to exercise these powers, using a formal model in which unilateral policymaking skill varies across o ceholders and is unknown to voters. Undesirable unilateral action is unavoidable in equilibrium under broad conditions. This perverse behavior occurs when the incumbent acts unilaterally to show o policymaking skill even though unilateral action is inferior policy. Showing o is driven by electoral motivations and occurs because unilateral action is important for re-election. I also characterize conditions under which the incumbent acts unilaterally in equilibrium if and only if it improves voter welfare.