Political business cycles, democratization, and economic reform: the case of Africa

Block, Steven A.

doi:10.1016/s0304-3878(01)00184-5

Cited by 219 publications

(161 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…For instance, Grier (2008) reports that the timing of elections exerts a significant influence on quarterly real GDP growth in the US, while Tujula and Wolswijk (2007) find support for a PBC in their sample of OECD countries for the period -2002. Mink and De Haan (2006 provide similar evidence for European Union (EU) member states after the start of the monetary union.…”

Section: Previous Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Political budget cycles and election outcomes

2012

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This paper addresses two empirical questions. Is fiscal policy affected by upcoming elections? If so, do election-motivated fiscal policies enhance the probability of re-election of the incumbent? Employing data for 65 democratic countries over 1975-2005 in a semi-pooled panel model, we find that in most countries fiscal policy is hardly affected by elections. The countries for which we find a significant political budget cycle are very diverse. They include 'young' democracies but also 'established' democracies. In countries with a political budget cycle, election-motivated fiscal policies have a significant positive (but fairly small) effect on the electoral support for the political parties in government.

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Section: Previous Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Political budget cycles and election outcomes

2012

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“…Many African countries are currently undergoing a long process of economic reform (Block 2002). Ethiopia, one of many African countries, introduced the liberal market economy almost three decades ago.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seed producer cooperatives in the Ethiopian seed sector and their role in seed supply improvement: A review

Sisay

Verhees

Trijp

2017

Journal of Crop Improvement

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The role of seed producer cooperatives (SPCs) in the Ethiopian seed sector and their contribution to seed supply improvement have received attention from researchers, policymakers, and development partners. However, limited work has been done in reviewing and documenting their involvement in the seed sector development. In this paper, we review and discuss the SPCs in the Ethiopian seed sector. Specifically, we reflect on the contribution of SPCs to improving seed availability and access in the country. The current liberal market system of Ethiopia creates new opportunities for growth as successful enterprises, but also brings new challenges, such as more intense competition for smallholder producers. The government policy encourages SPCs to engage in seed business. We draw on scientific literature, reports, white papers, project documents, and websites. The review reveals that the seed sector in Ethiopia consists of three seed systems: formal, informal, and intermediary seed systems. Each seed system has a specific contribution to the delivery of seed to farmers, but they vary in their approach and respective strategies. The SPCs are categorized in the intermediary seed system because they have features of both formal and informal seed systems. They play a key role in meeting seed demand and contribute greatly to seed supply improvement through high-volume production of seed, crop, and variety diversification, and seed delivery to farmers. They produce and market the seed through various market channels, including direct sales to farmers, sales through contractual agreement, and sales directly to institutional buyers. Their contribution to improving the seed supply and seed security has received considerable recognition by policymakers and development practitioners. Therefore, government and development partners should support and strengthen SPCs to maximize their success in the seed business and their contribution to improving the seed supply in Ethiopia.ARTICLE HISTORY

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“…is a question of budget allocation, which we do not analyze in this paper. 6 The alternative partisan model of PBCs (Alberto Alesina, 1987;Hibbs, 1977) assumes relatively cohesive political parties with clearly delineated ideologies and is therefore unsuited for studies of PBCs in non-OECD countries (Block, 2002;Vergne, 2009). 7 Persson and Tabellini (2003) argue that in parliamentary systems incumbents control both the executive and the legislature, making it easier to push through budgets and public accounts.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%