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Political reforms and public policy : evidence from agricultural and food policies

Author

Listed:
  • Olper, Alessandro
  • Fatkowski, Jan
  • Swinnenm Johan
Abstract
This paper studies the effect of political regime transitions on public policy using a new data set on global agricultural and food policies over a 50-year period (including data from 74 developing and developed countries over the 1955–2005 period). The authors find evidence that democratization leads to a reduction of agricultural taxation, an increase in agricultural subsidization, or both. The empirical findings are consistent with the predictions of the median voter model because political transitions occurred primarily in countries with a majority of farmers. The results are robust to different specifications, estimation approaches, and variable definitions.

Suggested Citation

  • Olper, Alessandro & Fatkowski, Jan & Swinnenm Johan, 2013. "Political reforms and public policy : evidence from agricultural and food policies," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6336, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6336
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Keywords

    Parliamentary Government; Labor Policies; Emerging Markets; Political Economy; Population Policies;
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