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Should market liberalization precede democracy? Causal relations between political preferences and development

Author

Listed:
  • Pauline Grosjean

    (EBRD - European Bank for Reconstruction and Development - EBRD)

  • Claudia Senik

    (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 nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, UP4 - Université Paris-Sorbonne, PJSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

This paper is dedicated to the relation between market development and democracy. We distinguish contexts and preferences and ask whether it is true that the demand for democracy only emerges after a certain degree of market development is reached, and whether, conversely, democratization is likely to be an obstacle to the acceptation of market liberalization. Our study hinges on a new survey rich in attitudinal variables: the Life in Transition Survey (LITS) conducted in 2006 by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank, in 28 post-Transition countries. Our identification strategy consists in relying on the specific situation of frontier-zones. We find that democracy enhances the support for market development whereas the reverse is not true. Hence, the relativist argument according to which the preference for democracy is an endogenous by-product of market development is not supported by our data.

Suggested Citation

  • Pauline Grosjean & Claudia Senik, 2007. "Should market liberalization precede democracy? Causal relations between political preferences and development," Working Papers halshs-00588060, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00588060
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-00588060v1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Grosjean, Pauline & Senik, Claudia, 2008. "Why Populist Democracy Promotes Market Liberalization," IZA Discussion Papers 3527, IZA Network @ LISER.
    2. Pauline Grosjean & Claudia Senik, 2008. "How populist democracy promotes market liberalization," Working Papers halshs-00586284, HAL.
    3. Brigitte Granville & Judith Shapiro, 2008. "Scratch a Would-Be Planner: Robbins, Neoclassical Economics and the End of Socialism," Working Papers 11, Queen Mary, University of London, School of Business and Management, Centre for Globalisation Research.
    4. Pauline Grosjean & Claudia Senik, 2008. "How populist democracy promotes market liberalization," PSE Working Papers halshs-00586284, HAL.

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