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Can EU conditionality remedy soft budget constraints in transition countries?

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  • Brucker, Herbert
  • Schroder, Philipp J.H.
  • Weise, Christian

Abstract

Soft budget constraints (SBCs) are a persistent feature of transition economies and have been blamed for i.a. a lack of fiscal consolidation and sluggish growth. EU eastward enlargement has - among other things - been conditioned on tackling SBCs. This paper analyzes such outside conditionality theoretically and empirically. First, modelling the SBC problem as a war of attrition between the applicant countries' governments and firms we find that outside conditionality can foster SBC hardening. Yet, toughening the EU stance or reducing the number of enlargement rounds may have ambiguous effects. Second, estimating SBC hardening in a partial adjustment model by measuring the reaction of employment to output changes we find that EU conditionality did indeed help candidates to fight SBCs.
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  • Brucker, Herbert & Schroder, Philipp J.H. & Weise, Christian, 2005. "Can EU conditionality remedy soft budget constraints in transition countries?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 371-386, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jcecon:v:33:y:2005:i:2:p:371-386
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration
    • D78 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Positive Analysis of Policy Formulation and Implementation
    • P21 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - Planning, Coordination, and Reform
    • P26 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - Property Rights
    • P30 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - General
    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General

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