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Hunger and Anger in Autocracies and Democracies

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  • Marktanner, Marcus
  • Merkel, Almuth

Abstract

How do democracies and autocracies respond to rising food prices? Authoritarian regimes, we argue, must match the redistribution that the poor would obtain in a democracy to prevent an uprising. Interpreting authoritarian regimes as the rule of a faction of the rich, we develop a model that suggests that (1) food price inflation is both a threat to democracies and autocracies, (2) food price inflation is more of a threat to autocracies than to democracies, and (3) food price inflation is more of a threat to autocracies that are more factionalized. We provide empirical evidence for these hypotheses.

Suggested Citation

  • Marktanner, Marcus & Merkel, Almuth, 2019. "Hunger and Anger in Autocracies and Democracies," International Journal of Development and Conflict, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, vol. 9(1), pages 1-18.
    • Handle: RePEc:gok:ijdcv1:v:9:y:2019:i:1:p:1-18
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Food Price Inflation; Food Price Riots; Comparative Economics;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H12 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Crisis Management
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • P51 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Comparative Economic Systems - - - Comparative Analysis of Economic Systems

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