Free trade agreements and the consolidation of democracy

Liu, Xuepeng and Ornelas, Emanuel ORCID: 0000-0001-8330-8745 (2014) Free trade agreements and the consolidation of democracy. American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, 6 (2). pp. 29-70. ISSN 1945-7707

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Abstract

We study the relationship between participation in free trade agreements (FTAs) and the sustainability of democracy. Our model shows that FTAs can critically reduce the incentive of authoritarian groups to seek power by destroying protectionist rents, thus making democracies last longer. This gives governments in unstable democracies an extra motive to form FTAs. Hence, greater democratic instability induces governments to boost their FTA commitments. In a dataset with 116 countries over 1960-2007, we find robust support for these predictions. They help to rationalize the rapid simultaneous growth of regionalism and of worldwide democratization since the late 1980s.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	http://www.aeaweb.org/aej/mac/index.php
Additional Information:	© 2014 AEA
Divisions:	Management Centre for Economic Performance
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management J Political Science > JA Political science (General)
JEL classification:	D - Microeconomics > D7 - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making > D72 - Economic Models of Political Processes: Rent-Seeking, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior F - International Economics > F1 - Trade > F13 - Commercial Policy; Protection; Promotion; Trade Negotiations; International Trade Organizations F - International Economics > F1 - Trade > F15 - Economic Integration O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O19 - International Linkages to Development; Role of International Organizations O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O2 - Development Planning and Policy > O24 - Trade Policy; Factor Movement Policy; Foreign Exchange Policy
Date Deposited:	12 May 2014 09:03
Last Modified:	05 Apr 2024 00:30
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/56707

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