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Social Unrest in the Wake of IMF Structural Adjustment Programs

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  • Caleb Stroup
  • Benjamin Zissimos

Abstract

This paper proposes an answer to the question of why social unrest sometimes occurs in the wake of an IMF Structural Adjustment Program (SAP). Under certain circumstances, partly determined by a country’s comparative advantage, a nation’s elite may have an incentive to make transfers to the rest of society through government employment in order to quell social unrest. But under an SAP, the elite are constrained from making such transfers and consequently social unrest may arise. The paper proposes a framework from which a prediction can be made about the circumstances under which social unrest can be expected to occur. It then takes this prediction to the data and finds empirical support for it.

Suggested Citation

  • Caleb Stroup & Benjamin Zissimos, 2013. "Social Unrest in the Wake of IMF Structural Adjustment Programs," CESifo Working Paper Series 4211, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_4211
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    File URL: https://www.cesifo.org/DocDL/cesifo1_wp4211.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Stephen C. Nelson & Geoffrey P. R. Wallace, 2017. "Are IMF lending programs good or bad for democracy?," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 12(4), pages 523-558, December.
    2. Brett A. Casper, 2017. "IMF Programs and the Risk of a Coup d’état," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 61(5), pages 964-996, May.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    institutions; International Monetary Fund (IMF); social unrest; structural adjustment; trade integration;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D30 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - General
    • D74 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
    • F10 - International Economics - - Trade - - - General
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • P14 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Property Rights

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