Institutional Quality and the Tenure of Autocrats

24 Pages Posted: 1 Sep 2018

See all articles by Randall G. Holcombe

Randall G. Holcombe

Florida State University - Department of Economics

Christopher Boudreaux

Florida Atlantic University

Date Written: 2013

Abstract

A substantial body of literature concludes that nations that maintain market institutions and have limited governments have higher economic growth rates and higher per capita incomes. This conclusion goes back at least to Adam Smith (1937 [1776]), and includes historical studies by Mokyr (1990) and Landes (1998), and institutional analyses by Olson (1996) and Baumol (1990). If the advantages of market institutions are widely recognized, why would the political leadership of any nation not adopt them? One answer often applied to autocracies is that while the general population may be better off with market institutions, the political leadership can obtain personal benefits from more oppressive economic institutions.

Suggested Citation

Holcombe, Randall G. and Boudreaux, Christopher, Institutional Quality and the Tenure of Autocrats (2013). Public Choice, Vol. 156, No. 3-4, 2013, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3237460

Randall G. Holcombe

Florida State University - Department of Economics ( email )

Tallahassee, FL 30306-2180
United States
850-644-7095 (Phone)
850-644-4535 (Fax)

Christopher Boudreaux (Contact Author)

Florida Atlantic University ( email )

777 Glades Road
KH 145
Boca Raton, FL 33431
United States

HOME PAGE: http://home.fau.edu/cboudreaux/web/

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
28
Abstract Views
272
PlumX Metrics