Public Support for Market Reforms in New Democracies

The authors probe support for governments and economic reforms under changing economic conditions.

Susan C. Stokes (Edited by)

9780521663410, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 17 September 2001

232 pages, 32 b/w illus. 43 tables
22.9 x 15.3 x 1.4 cm, 0.316 kg

Do people in new democracies undergoing market reforms turn against these reforms when the economic adjustment is painful? The conventional wisdom is that they will. According to 'economic voting' models, citizens punish elected governments for bad economic performance. The contributors to this collection, in contrast, begin with the insight that citizens in new democracies have good reasons to depart from the predictions of economic voting. If they believe the prediction that, with the transition to a market economy, economic conditions must deteriorate before they improve, they may interpret short-term deterioration as signaling that the transition is on course and things will improve in the future. If they perceive that forces from the past are responsible for economic deterioration, they may exonerate the government. With similar data-sets from three new democracies in Europe and three in Latin America, the authors probe the support for governments and economic reforms under economic conditions.

1. Introduction: economic voting and pro-market reforms in new democracies Susan C. Stokes
Part I. Europe: 2. Political reactions to the economy: the Spanish experience José Maria Maravall and Adam Przeworski
3. The economy and public opinion in East Germany, 1991–95 Christopher J. Anderson
4. Public support for economic reforms in Poland Adam Przeworski
Part II. Latin America: 5. Public opinion, presidential popularity and economic reform in Argentina 1989–1996 Carlos Elordi and Fabian Echegaray
6. Economic reform and public opinion in Fujimori's Peru Susan C. Stokes
7. Economic reforms, public approval in Mexico, 1988–1997 Jorge Buendia Laredo.

Subject Areas: Political economy [KCP], Economics, finance, business & management [K], Political structures: democracy [JPHV]