One decade after the Arab uprisings of 2010/11, the present discussion paper revisits processes of political change in the Middle East and North Africa MENA) with a focus on the question of systemic change. Core questions in this context are: How, among all possible varieties of political...

Die Corona-Maßnahmen der Bundes- und Landesregierungen haben das öffentliche Leben in Deutschland zeitweise massiv beeinträchtigt. Durch das Kontaktverbot wurden die freie Berufsausübung, die Gewerbefreiheit, die Schulpflicht und die Religionsfreiheit vorübergehend eingeschränkt....

The EU has made democracy support a stronger aspect in its relations with African countries since 2002. However, a broad range of political and economic dynamics within as well as outside of Europe challenge democracy and its supporters: the rise of non-democratic countries such as China,...

For scholars, policy-makers and casual observers, there is no doubt that Morocco has undergone an impressive transformation process since Mohammed VI came to power in 1999. The country projects an image of liberal-democratic modernity and socio-economic progress that the international community...

We study the effect of franchise extension on the fiscal structure of central and local governments in the United Kingdom between 1820 and 1913 to revisit the Redistribution Hypothesis - the prediction that franchise extension causes an increase in state-sponsored redistribution. We adopt a...

The EU has made democracy support a stronger aspect in its relations with African countries since 2002. However, a broad range of political and economic dynamics within as well as outside of Europe challenge democracy and its supporters: the rise of non-democratic countries such as China,...

For scholars, policy-makers and casual observers, there is no doubt that Morocco has undergone an impressive transformation process since Mohammed VI came to power in 1999. The country projects an image of liberal-democratic modernity and socio-economic progress that the international community...

We study the effect of ethnic diversity on local public spending following fiscal decentralisation in a setting where local institutions condition cooperative behaviour across ethnic groups. The theory we develop highlights the role of the local elite in lobbying for policies which favour them...

Die Corona-Maßnahmen der Bundes- und Landesregierungen haben das öffentliche Leben in Deutschland zeitweise massiv beeinträchtigt. Durch das Kontaktverbot wurden die freie Berufsausübung, die Gewerbefreiheit, die Schulpflicht und die Religionsfreiheit vorübergehend eingeschränkt....

We examine the role of democracy shocks in the cross-country economic growth processes over a period of five decades since 1960. The recent uprisings that arose independently and spread across the Arab world form the main context of our investigation. We study if (i) a shock to democracy in one...

The paper is about the political consequences of increasing economic inequality in Western economies. Political theorists have often stressed that democracy is in troubles when its population is not broadly uniform in income and wealth because unequal economic resources can easily translate into...

Looking for democracy in all the wrong places -- The big picture -- The components of salience -- The regional picture -- Myanmar and donor switching -- Egypt and Fiji -- No golden age, no silver bullet.

I examine whether transitory events can tip the scales against authoritarian regimes and lead to persistent democratization. I think of situations where this is a possibility as democratic tipping points. The transitory events I focus on are rainfall shocks in the most agricultural countries in...

Democratic transitions since 2011 in the Middle East and North Africa have mostly failed to consolidate and have been hindered by the difficult economic heritage of previous authoritarian governments. Which short-term economic policies may help consolidate the early democratisation process?

This paper analyzes the utilization of repression and democratic institutions by a non-democratic government striving for political power and private rents. We find that economic development has different impacts on policy choices, depending on whether it appears in the form of rises in income...

Foreword -- Preface -- Introduction: in search of economic policies to stabilise democratic transitions / Giacomo Luciani -- Reflections on the arab uprisings / Samir Makdisi -- Rethinking the rentier curse / Adeel Malik -- A brief political economy of energy subsidies in the Middle East and...

This paper develops a new model of trade policy under dictatorship and democratization. The paper makes two contributions. One is to provide a deeper understanding of the relationship between political institutions and economic efficiency by studying the endogenous interaction between the form...

Based on a systematic review and evaluation of business reports, documents, statistics, literature and press releases, this paper analyzes the market concentration and the expansion and innovation strategies of the leading internet companies Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft. The...

"This book addresses the political Instability and its effects on the economics of the MENA countries. It also covers economic growth, brain drain, capital controls, corruption, economic reform, economic shocks, uncertainty, vulnerability, economics inequality, FDI flows, corruption, financial...