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The Political Consequences of Income Shocks: Explaining the Consolidation of Democracy in France

Author

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  • Raphaël Franck

    (Bar Ilan University)

Abstract

This study analyzes the circumstances that enabled France to become in the late nineteenth century the first stable parliamentary democracy with universal (male) suffrage in Europe. It establishes a causal relationship between short-term variations in local income and the electoral support for the coalition of republican parties that represented the newly established regime. The results suggest the republican coalition won the parliamentary elections because most French regions did not suffer from transitory negative income shocks stemming from heavy precipitations. They thus raise questions about the rationality of voters and, ultimately, the actual causes of the consolidation of democracy in France.

Suggested Citation

  • Raphaël Franck, 2016. "The Political Consequences of Income Shocks: Explaining the Consolidation of Democracy in France," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 98(1), pages 57-82, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:restat:v:98:y:2016:i:1:p:57-82
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Raphaël Franck & Victor Gay, 2024. "Urbanization and the Change in Political Elites," Working Papers hal-04364519, HAL.
    2. Aidt, Toke S. & Jensen, Peter S., 2014. "Workers of the world, unite! Franchise extensions and the threat of revolution in Europe, 1820–1938," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 52-75.
    3. Dario Debowicz & Alex Dickson & Ian A. MacKenzie & Petros G. Sekeris, 2023. "Income and the (eventual) rise of democracy," Discussion Papers Series 661, School of Economics, University of Queensland, Australia.
    4. Chambru, Cédric & Viallet-Thévenin, Scott, 2017. "Mobilité sociale et empire colonial : Les gouverneurs coloniaux français entre 1830 et 1960," Working Papers unige:100709, University of Geneva, Paul Bairoch Institute of Economic History.
    5. François Facchini & Mickael Melki, 2014. "Political Ideology And Economic Growth: Evidence From The French Democracy," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 52(4), pages 1408-1426, October.
    6. Rainer Kotschy & Uwe Sunde, 2021. "Income Shocks, Inequality, and Democracy," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 123(1), pages 295-326, January.
    7. Maria Waldinger, 2023. "“Let Them Eat Cake”: Drought, Peasant Uprisings, and Demand for Institutional Change in the French Revolution," CESifo Working Paper Series 10303, CESifo.
    8. Marino, Maria & Donni, Paolo Li & Bavetta, Sebastiano & Cellini, Marco, 2020. "The democratization process: An empirical appraisal of the role of political protest," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    9. Sergei Guriev & Elias Papaioannou, 2022. "The Political Economy of Populism," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 60(3), pages 753-832, September.
    10. Fuchs-Schündeln, N. & Hassan, T.A., 2016. "Natural Experiments in Macroeconomics," Handbook of Macroeconomics, in: J. B. Taylor & Harald Uhlig (ed.), Handbook of Macroeconomics, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 923-1012, Elsevier.
    11. Raphaël Franck & Oded Galor, 2022. "Technology-Skill Complementarity in Early Phases of Industrialisation," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 132(642), pages 618-643.
    12. Klaus Gründler & Tommy Krieger, 2018. "Machine Learning Indices, Political Institutions, and Economic Development," CESifo Working Paper Series 6930, CESifo.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Democracy; Economic Growth; Voting;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • N13 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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