If policy makers in developing countries pursue "bad" economic policies, policy conditionality may provide financial leverage which induces them not to choose these policies. When is such policy conditionality beneficial? We point out that whether conditionality has a beneficial short run impact...

Policy persistence refers to the tendency of the political process to maintain policies once they have been introduced. This paper develops a theory of policy persistence based on the idea that policies create incentives for beneficiaries to take actions which increase their willingness to pay...