This paper analyzes the political economy of the reform process theoretically and empirically. Building on the framework developed by Rodrik [1995], a two-sector model of a transition economy is constructed. This model is then used to study the dynamics of political support for the reforms. The...

Emigrants are less likely to participate in elections in their home country. They are also self-selected in terms of education, gender, age, and political preferences, changing the structure of the origin population. High emigration rates can therefore have a systematic influence on election...

As concerns about reform fatigue in lower- and middle-income countries have become more widespread, so has the search for ways of boosting support for market-oriented reforms. While the effects of political institutions on reform results have been extensively analyzed, there has been relatively...

Most transitional economies in Central and Eastern Europe have rather surprisingly resisted protectionist pressures - at least during early stages of reform - and adopted liberal trade policies. In this paper the course of trade policy during transition is explained from a political economy...

We present a model to explain why in the transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe an important output fall has been associated with price liberalization. Its key ingredients are search frictions and Williamsonian relation-specific investment, implying that new investments are made only...