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Elites and Institutional Persistence

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  • James Robinson

Abstract

Particular sets of institutions, once they become established in a society, have a strong tendency to persist. In this paper I argue that understanding how elites form and reproduce is key to understanding the persistence of institutions over time. I illustrate this idea with a simple political economy theory of institutions and through examples from Liberia, the US, South Africa and Germany I show how elites influence institutions. To change institutions requires having an understanding of how reforms influence the preferences, capabilities and strategies of elites.

Suggested Citation

  • James Robinson, 2010. "Elites and Institutional Persistence," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2010-085, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2010-085
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    File URL: https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/wp2010-85.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Daron Acemoglu & Davide Cantoni & Simon Johnson & James A. Robinson, 2011. "The Consequences of Radical Reform: The French Revolution," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(7), pages 3286-3307, December.
    2. Philippe Aghion, 2005. "Growth and Institutions," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 32(1), pages 3-18, March.
    3. Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson & James A. Robinson, 2002. "Reversal of Fortune: Geography and Institutions in the Making of the Modern World Income Distribution," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 117(4), pages 1231-1294.
    4. Michels, Robert, 1915. "Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy," History of Economic Thought Books, McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought, number michels1915.
    5. Besley, Timothy & Persson, Torsten & Sturm, Daniel, 2010. "Political competition, policy and growth: theory and evidence from the United States," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 121718, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Acemoglu,Daron & Robinson,James A., 2009. "Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521671422, January.
    7. Heinicke Craig, 1994. "African-American Migration and Mechanized Cotton Harvesting, 1950-1960," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 501-520, October.
    8. Kisch, Herbert, 1989. "From Domestic Manufacture to Industrial Revolution: The Case of the Rhineland Textile Districts," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195051117.
    9. Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson & James A. Robinson, 2001. "The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(5), pages 1369-1401, December.
    10. Wright, Gavin, 1999. "The Civil Rights Revolution as Economic History," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 59(2), pages 267-289, June.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Malik, Adeel & Awadallah, Bassem, 2013. "The Economics of the Arab Spring," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 296-313.
    3. Ravnborg, Helle Munk & Gómez, Ligia Ivette, 2015. "Poverty Reduction Through Dispossession: The Milk Boom and the Return of the Elite in Santo Tomás, Nicaragua," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 118-128.
    4. Ravnborg, Helle Munk & Gómez, Ligia Ivette, 2015. "The Importance of Inequality for Natural Resource Governance: Evidence from Two Nicaraguan Territories," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 72-84.
    5. Luis Monroy‐Gómez‐Franco & Paloma Villagómez‐Ornelas, 2024. "Stratification economics in the land of persistent inequalities," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 83(1), pages 157-175, January.
    6. Gwendoline Promsopha & Antoine Vion, 2017. "Thailand's 'limited order trap' : a critical application of North, Wallis and Weingast," Post-Print hal-01612052, HAL.
    7. Ntuli, Herbert & Mukong, Alfred Kechia & Kimengsi, Jude Ndzifon, 2022. "Institutions and environmental resource extraction within local communities in Mozambique," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).

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