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Are Endowments Fate?
Nugent, Jeffrey B; Robinson, James A - C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers - 2002
In recent theories of comparative development the role of institutional differences has been crucial. Yet what explains … comparative institutional evolution? We investigate this issue by studying the coffee exporting economies of Latin America. While … homogeneous in many ways, they experienced radically different paths of economic (and political) development which is conventional …
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10005123696
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White Elephants
Robinson, James A; Torvik, Ragnar - C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers - 2002
Underdevelopment is thought to be about lack of investment, and many political economy theories can account for this. Yet, there has been much investment in developing countries. The problem has been that investment growth has not led to output growth. We therefore need to explain not simply...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10005123875
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Economic Backwardness in Political Perspective
Acemoglu, Daron; Robinson, James A - C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers - 2002
We construct a simple model where political elites may block technological and institutional development, because of a … replaced. Fearing replacement, political elites are unwilling to initiate change, and may even block economic development. We … show that elites are unlikely to block development when there is a high degree of political competition, or when they are …
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10005124137
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Making Autocracy Work
Besley, Timothy J.; Kudamatsu, Masayuki - C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers - 2007
One of the key goals of political economy is to understand how institutional arrangements shape policy outcomes. This paper studies a comparatively neglected aspect of this - the forces that shape heterogeneous performance of autocracies. The paper develops a simple theoretical model of...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10005136611
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Political and Economic Institutions of China and Their Influences
Xu, Cheng-Gang - C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers - 2014
in the world in a few decades. Now China is returning to its historical past. To understand China’s development, and to …
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10011145429
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A Political Economy Theory of the Soft Budget Constraint
Robinson, James A; Torvik, Ragnar - C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers - 2005
Why do soft budget constraints exist and persist? In this paper we argue that the prevalence of soft budget constraints can be best explained by the political desirability of softness. We develop a political economy model where politicians cannot commit to policies that are not ex post optimal....
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10005114300
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Making Progress on Foreign Aid
Qian, Nancy - C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers - 2014
population well-being and facilitate economic and institutional development. The empirical evidence on its benefits is mixed and …
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10011083342
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An African Success Story: Botswana
Acemoglu, Daron; Johnson, Simon; Robinson, James A - C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers - 2002
achieved this rapid development by following orthodox economic policies. How Botswana sustained these policies is a puzzle …
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10005661844