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Partisan Liberalizations. A New Puzzle from OECD Network Industries?

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  • Filippo Belloc
  • Antonio Nicita

Abstract

We investigate the political determinants of liberalization in OECD network industries, performing a panel estimation over thirty years, through the largest and most updated sample available. Contrary to traditional ideological cleavages, we find that right-wing governments liberalize less than left-wing ones. This result is confirmed when controlling for the existing regulatory conditions that executives find when elected. Furthermore, governments’ heterogeneity, proportional electoral rules, and European Union membership all show positive and statistically significant effects on liberalization. Our findings suggest that, despite the conventional wisdom, the political-economic rationale behind liberalization paths in network industries is far from being assessed

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  • Filippo Belloc & Antonio Nicita, 2010. "Partisan Liberalizations. A New Puzzle from OECD Network Industries?," Department of Economics University of Siena 588, Department of Economics, University of Siena.
    • Handle: RePEc:usi:wpaper:588
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Liberalization – Network Industries – Government heterogeneity and Partisanship – Electoral systems - Panel data;

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • L50 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - General
    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State
    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models

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