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Political Constraints and Public Support for Market Reform

Author

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  • Raj M. Desai

    (International Monetary Fund)

  • Anders Olofsgård

    (International Monetary Fund)

Abstract

As concerns of "reform fatigue" in lower- and middle-income countries have become more widespread, so has the search for ways of boosting support for market-oriented reforms. Although the effects of political institutions on reform results have been extensively analyzed, there has been relatively little investigation of their effects on public opinion. We argue that constitutional and extra-constitutional reforms that place limits on the discretionary authority of public officials and enable voters to monitor, reward, and sanction politicians can enhance the legitimacy of market reforms. We present a voting model with asymmetric information to illustrate that these formal-legal reforms provide a credible signal of reformers' commitments. Using panel data based on public opinion barometers from Eastern Europe and Latin America, we examine the effects of political authority on public support for markets. We find that constraints on the power of the executive branch boost support for markets but that this effect declines as the reform process matures. Copyright 2006, International Monetary Fund

Suggested Citation

  • Raj M. Desai & Anders Olofsgård, 2006. "Political Constraints and Public Support for Market Reform," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 53(si), pages 1-5.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:imfstp:v::y:2006:i:si:p:5
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Irena Grosfeld & Claudia Senik, 2008. "The Emerging Aversion to Inequality: Evidence from Poland 1992-2005," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series wp919, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
    2. Irena Grosfeld & Claudia Senik, 2009. "The emerging aversion to inequality - Evidence from long subjective data," Working Papers halshs-00586788, HAL.
    3. Sirovátka, Tomáš & Guzi, Martin & Saxonberg, Steve, 2019. "Support for Market Economy Principles in European Post-Communist Countries during 1999–2008," MPRA Paper 97585, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Irena Grosfeld & Claudia Senik, 2010. "The emerging aversion to inequality," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 18(1), pages 1-26, January.
    5. Pauline Grosjean & Frantisek Ricka & Claudia Senik, 2011. "Learning, Political Attitudes and the Crisis in Transition Countries," Discussion Papers 2011-16, School of Economics, The University of New South Wales.
    6. Apolte, Thomas & Peters, Heiko, 2009. "Governance, Demokratie und wirtschaftliche Entwicklung in den ehemals sozialistischen Staaten," IÖB-Diskussionspapiere 1/09, University of Münster, Institute for Economic Education.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State
    • P26 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - Property Rights

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