Political Reforms and Public Policy : Evidence from Agricultural and Food Policies

This paper studies the effect of political regime transitions on public policy using a new data set on global agricultural and food policies over a 50-year period (including data from 74 developing and developed countries over the 1955 2005 period). The authors find evidence that democratization leads to a reduction of agricultural taxation, an increase in agricultural subsidization, or both. The empirical findings are consistent with the predictions of the median voter model because political transitions occurred primarily in countries with a majority of farmers. The results are robust to different specifications, estimation approaches, and variable definitions.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Olper, Alessandro, Fałkowski, Jan, Swinnenm, Johan
Format: Policy Research Working Paper biblioteca
Language:English
en_US
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2013-01
Subjects:AGRICULTURAL POLICIES, ARMED CONFLICT, AUTOCRACY, BARRIER, BLACK MARKET, BOND, BULLETIN, CAPACITY BUILDING, CASH CROPS, CETERIS PARIBUS, COLLECTIVE ACTION, COMMODITIES, COMMODITY, COMMODITY PRICES, COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE, CONSUMPTION EXPENDITURES, COUNTRY FIXED EFFECTS, CRISES, CULTURAL CHANGE, DECISION MAKERS, DEMOCRACIES, DEMOCRACY, DEMOCRATIC REGIMES, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS, DEVELOPMENT POLICY, DICTATORIAL REGIMES, DOMESTIC MARKET, DOMESTIC PRICE, ECONOMIC ACTIVITY, ECONOMIC CRISIS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC GROWTH, ECONOMIC HISTORY, ECONOMIC LIBERALIZATION, ECONOMIC LIBERALIZATIONS, ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE, ECONOMIC POLICIES, ECONOMIC REFORM, ECONOMIC REFORMS, ELECTION, ELECTIONS, EMPLOYMENT, EXCHANGE RATE, EXECUTIVE BRANCH, EXPORT SECTORS, FINANCIAL SUPPORT, FOREIGN CURRENCY, FREE TRADE, GDP, GLOBALIZATION, GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION, GOVERNMENT POLICIES, GROWTH RATE, IDEOLOGY, INCOME, INCOME INEQUALITY, INCOMES, INTEREST GROUP, INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION, LABOR MARKET, LABOR MARKET POLICIES, LEGITIMACY, LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT, MARKET STRUCTURES, MEAT, MONOPOLY, OUTPUTS, PEACE, POLICY DISCUSSIONS, POLICY RESEARCH, POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER, POLITICAL ECONOMICS, POLITICAL ECONOMY, POLITICAL ECONOMY STUDIES, POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS, POLITICAL POWER, POLITICAL REGIME, POLITICAL REGIMES, POLITICAL RIGHTS, POLITICAL SCIENCE, POLITICAL SUPPORT, POLITICAL SYSTEMS, PROGRESS, PROPERTY RIGHTS, PROTECTIONISM, PUBLIC POLICIES, PUBLIC POLICY, PUBLIC SECTOR, REGIME CHANGE, REGIME CHANGES, RENT-SEEKING BEHAVIOR, REPUBLIC, RESPECT, RIGHT- WING, RIGHT-WING, RURAL POPULATION, TAX, TAXATION, TRADE LIBERALIZATION, TRADE POLICY, TRADE TAXES, TRANSPARENCY, URBAN WORKERS, VOTING RIGHTS, WAR, WARS, WORLD ECONOMY, WORLD MARKETS,
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/01/17196551/political-reforms-public-policy-evidence-agricultural-food-policies
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/12160
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Summary:This paper studies the effect of political regime transitions on public policy using a new data set on global agricultural and food policies over a 50-year period (including data from 74 developing and developed countries over the 1955 2005 period). The authors find evidence that democratization leads to a reduction of agricultural taxation, an increase in agricultural subsidization, or both. The empirical findings are consistent with the predictions of the median voter model because political transitions occurred primarily in countries with a majority of farmers. The results are robust to different specifications, estimation approaches, and variable definitions.