IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/pseose/hal-00812903.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Non-linear geographics and the economics of transition and democratization

Author

Listed:
  • Elise S. Brezis

    (Department of Economics [Israël] - Bar-Ilan University [Israël])

  • Thierry Verdier

    (PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, CEPR - Center for Economic Policy Research - CEPR)

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyse the effects of geography on the transition process in authoritarian political regimes, and to investigate the nature of the links between political change, economic reforms and geographical location. A simple model of transition and democratization is presented wherein we show that the effectiveness of repression by the incumbent elite is a negative function of the distance to the 'free world'. In consequence, geography has conflicting effects on shifts in political power. This article provides a rationale for the counterintuitive fact that the first authoritarian country to start a transition process towards democratization is not necessarily the one nearest to the free world.

Suggested Citation

  • Elise S. Brezis & Thierry Verdier, 2013. "Non-linear geographics and the economics of transition and democratization," PSE - Labex "OSE-Ouvrir la Science Economique" hal-00812903, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:pseose:hal-00812903
    DOI: 10.1111/ecot.12003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    To our knowledge, this item is not available for download. To find whether it is available, there are three options:
    1. Check below whether another version of this item is available online.
    2. Check on the provider's web page whether it is in fact available.
    3. Perform a search for a similarly titled item that would be available.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Elise S. Brezis & Adi Schnytzer, 2003. "Wy are the transition paths in China and Eastern Europe different?," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 11(1), pages 3-23, March.
    2. Peter T. Leeson & Andrea M. Dean, 2009. "The Democratic Domino Theory: An Empirical Investigation," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(3), pages 533-551, July.
    3. Olivier Blanchard & Kenneth Froot & Jeffrey Sachs, 1994. "The Transition in Eastern Europe, Volume 2, Restructuring," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number blan94-3, March.
    4. Olivier Jean Blanchard & Kenneth A. Froot & Jeffrey D. Sachs, 1994. "The Transition in Eastern Europe, Volume 1, Country Studies," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number blan94-2, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Elise S. Brezis & Verdier Thierry & Thierry Verdier, 2014. "Geography, Economics and Political Systems: A Bird’s Eye View," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 12(01), pages 29-36, April.
    2. repec:ces:ifodic:v:12:y:2014:i:1:p:19108852 is not listed on IDEAS

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Radosevic, Slavo, 1999. "Transformation of science and technology systems into systems of innovation in central and eastern Europe: the emerging patterns and determinants," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 10(3-4), pages 277-320, December.
    2. Noland, Marcus & Robinson, Sherman & Wang, Tao, 2000. "Modeling Korean Unification," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 400-421, June.
    3. Žídek Libor, 2016. "Economic Transformation in Slovenia: From a Model Example to the Default Edge," Review of Economic Perspectives, Sciendo, vol. 16(3), pages 159-186, September.
    4. Kogut, Bruce & Macpherson, J. Muir, 2011. "The mobility of economists and the diffusion of policy ideas: The influence of economics on national policies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(10), pages 1307-1320.
    5. Peter Grajzl & Valentina Dimitrova-Grajzl & Katarina Zajc, 2016. "Inside post-socialist courts: the determinants of adjudicatory outcomes in Slovenian commercial disputes," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 41(1), pages 85-115, February.
    6. Michał Myck & Monika Oczkowska, 2018. "Shocked by therapy? Unemployment in the first years of the socio‐economic transition in Poland and its long‐term consequences," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 26(4), pages 695-724, October.
    7. Laurila, Juhani & Singh, Rupinder, 2000. "Sequential reform strategy: The case of Azerbaijan," BOFIT Discussion Papers 8/2000, Bank of Finland Institute for Emerging Economies (BOFIT).
    8. Anders Åslund, 2017. "Lessons from the Collapse of the Ruble Zone," CESifo Forum, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 17(04), pages 12-18, January.
    9. Kennedy, Robert E., 1997. "A tale of two economies: Economic restructuring in post-socialist Poland," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 25(6), pages 841-865, June.
    10. Ale?Ahcan & Saso Polanec, 2008. "Social Security and Retirement during Transition:Microeconometric Evidence from Slovenia," LICOS Discussion Papers 22108, LICOS - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance, KU Leuven.
    11. Sweder J. G. van Wijnbergen & Tim Willems, 2016. "Learning Dynamics and Support for Economic Reforms: Why Good News Can Be Bad," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 30(1), pages 1-23.
    12. Justin Yifu Lin, 2005. "Viability, Economic Transition and Reflection on Neoclassical Economics," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(2), pages 239-264, May.
    13. Judit KAPà S & Pál CZEGLÉDI, 2007. "What Does Transition Mean?: Post-socialist and Western European Countries Paralleled," The Journal of Comparative Economic Studies (JCES), The Japanese Society for Comparative Economic Studies (JSCES), vol. 3, pages 3-28, December.
    14. Keane, Michael & Prasad, Eswar, 2001. "Consumption and Income Inequality During the Transition to a Market Economy: Poland, 1985–1992," MPRA Paper 54356, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Dobrescu, Emilian, 1996. "Macromodels of the Romanian transition Economy," MPRA Paper 35810, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. repec:zbw:bofitp:2000_008 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. V. Bárta, 1996. "Estimation of the Fiscal Stance in the Czech Republic during Transformation: Full Employment Budget Analysis," CERT Discussion Papers 9612, Centre for Economic Reform and Transformation, Heriot Watt University.
    18. Elise S. Brezis & Adi Schnytzer, 2003. "Wy are the transition paths in China and Eastern Europe different?," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 11(1), pages 3-23, March.
    19. Ghemawat, Pankaj & Kennedy, Robert E., 1999. "Competitive shocks and industrial structure: the case of Polish manufacturing," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 17(6), pages 847-867, August.
    20. Anders Aslund, 2012. "Why a Breakup of the Euro Area Must Be Avoided: Lessons from Previous Breakups," Policy Briefs PB12-20, Peterson Institute for International Economics.
    21. Laurila, Juhani & Singh, Rupinder, 2000. "Sequential reform strategy : The case of Azerbaijan," BOFIT Discussion Papers 8/2000, Bank of Finland, Institute for Economies in Transition.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Conflicts; Democratization; Elites; Geography; Repression; Transition process;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D74 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
    • P26 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - Property Rights
    • P36 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - Consumer Economics; Health; Education and Training; Welfare, Income, Wealth, and Poverty

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hal:pseose:hal-00812903. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.