Constitutions as Commitment or Coordination Device? Comment on C. Azariadis and V. Galasso, Constitutional "Rules" and Intergenerational Fiscal Policy

In a recent contribution to Constitutional Political Economy, Azariadis and Galasso argued that due to the fact that constitutions allow for a partial precommitment of the individuals, constitutional rules are a good means to guarantee an efficient level of redistribution between generations. I argue that constitutional rules have no inherent advantage with respect to commitment compared to other rules. However, the beneficial role of constitutions stems from their ability to create a focal point that helps to solve the equilibrium selection problem.