To what extent do imposed institutions shape preferences? We consider this issue by comparing the market-versus-state attitudes of respondents from a capitalist country, Finland, and an ex-communist group of Baltic countries, and arguing that the period under the communist rule can be viewed as an “experiment” in institutional imposition. We find, consistent with some earlier related work, that citizens from ex-communist countries tend to be more supportive of state ownership than respondents from capitalist economies. However, they also favour increasing inequality and competition as the means to enhance incentives. Our conclusion is that, in some important relevant dimensions, institutional imposition (that lasted for about fifty years) had a limited effect on preferences.
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Paper provided by C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers in its series CEPR Discussion Papers with number
5922.
Find related papers by JEL classification: D02 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Institutions: Design, Formation, and Operations D30 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - General I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare and Poverty - - - General Welfare P30 - Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - General P51 - Economic Systems - - Comparative Economic Systems - - - Comparative Analysis of Economic Systems
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Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1998.
"Law and Finance,"
Journal of Political Economy,
University of Chicago Press, vol. 106(6), pages 1113-1155, December.
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Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez-de-Silane & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1996.
"Law and Finance,"
NBER Working Papers
5661, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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