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Democracy and Reforms

Author

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  • Giuliano, Paola

    (University of California, Los Angeles)

  • Mishra, Prachi

    (International Monetary Fund)

  • Spilimbergo, Antonio

    (International Monetary Fund)

Abstract

Empirical evidence on the relationship between democracy and economic reforms is scarce, limited to few reforms and countries and for few years. This paper studies the impact of democracy on the adoption of economic reforms using a new dataset on reforms in the financial, capital, public, and banking sectors, product and labor markets, agriculture, and trade for 150 countries over the period 1960-2004. Democracy has a positive and significant impact on the adoption of economic reforms but there is no evidence that economic reforms foster democracy. Our results are robust to the inclusion of a large variety of controls and estimation strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • Giuliano, Paola & Mishra, Prachi & Spilimbergo, Antonio, 2009. "Democracy and Reforms," IZA Discussion Papers 4032, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp4032
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Hauner, David & Prati, Alessandro & Bircan, Cagatay, 2013. "The interest group theory of financial development: Evidence from regulation," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 895-906.
    2. Kym Anderson & Gordon Rausser & Johan Swinnen, 2013. "Political Economy of Public Policies: Insights from Distortions to Agricultural and Food Markets," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 51(2), pages 423-477, June.
    3. Jan Fałkowski & Alessandro Olper, 2014. "Political competition and policy choices: the evidence from agricultural protection," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 45(2), pages 143-158, March.
    4. Alali, Walid Y., 2010. "Role of Political Institutions on Economic Growth: Empirical Evidence," EconStor Preprints 269879, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    5. Cagatay Bircan & David Hauner & Alessandro Prati, 2012. "The interest group theory of financial development: evidence from regulation," Working Papers 150, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Office of the Chief Economist.
    6. repec:lic:licosd:32312 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Lipscy, Phillip Y., 2018. "Democracy and Financial Crisis," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 72(4), pages 937-968, October.
    8. Mr. Abdul d Abiad & Ms. Petya Koeva Brooks & Ms. Irina Tytell & Mr. Daniel Leigh & Mr. Ravi Balakrishnan, 2009. "What’s the Damage? Medium-term Output Dynamics After Banking Crises," IMF Working Papers 2009/245, International Monetary Fund.
    9. repec:lic:licosd:30512 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Kammas, Pantelis & Sarantides, Vassilis, 2019. "Do dictatorships redistribute more?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 176-195.
    11. Mr. Rabah Arezki & Mr. Marc G Quintyn & Mr. Frederik G Toscani, 2012. "Structural Reforms, IMF Programs and Capacity Building: An Empirical Investigation," IMF Working Papers 2012/232, International Monetary Fund.
    12. Alali, Walid Y., 2010. "Role of Political Institutions on Economic Growth: Empirical Evidence," MPRA Paper 115611, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Olper, Alessandro & Raimondi, Valentina, 2013. "Electoral rules, forms of government and redistributive policy: Evidence from agriculture and food policies," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 141-158.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    political economy; economic liberalization; transition;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O57 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Comparative Studies of Countries
    • E6 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook

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