POLAND’S TRANSITION AS POLITICAL REPOLARIZATION

Twenty Years of Political Transition

What explains the divergent political paths that the post-communist countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union have followed since the fall of the Berlin Wall? While some appear today to be consolidated democracies, others have all the features of consolidated autocracy. This study reviews the patterns of change and examines correlates of progress towards democracy. Variation acros...

The Political Economy of Transition

Clans in Transition: A Political Economic Analysis

It is often important to take country specific institutional features into account in a political economic analysis. We do so in an analysis of Albania. It is argued that the politico-economic system there is characterized by the existence of clans. We study the role of clans by estimating vote functions. The results show major differences across clans in response to government policies. Estima...

The Political Economy of Myanmar’s Transition

Since holding elections in 2010, Myanmar has transitioned from a direct military dictatorship to a formally democratic system and has embarked on a period of rapid economic reform. After two decades of military rule, the pace of change has startled almost everyone and led to a great deal of cautious optimism. To make sense of the transition and assess the case for optimism, this article explore...

Political Uncertainty and Crime in Transition Economies*

Political Uncertainty and Crime in Transition Economies Two stylized facts are often used to characterize the economies in transition: an increase in the crime level and frequent government changes, where the party in power is replaced by another party with a different, and often opposite, ideological orientation. We investigate the impact on agents’ honesty when agents perceive the future form...