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2671. Government Expenditures and Equilibrium Real Exchange Rates

Author:
Ronald J. Balvers and Jeffrey H. Bergstrand
Publication Date:
04-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Economists have long investigated theoretically and empirically the relationship between government spending and equilibrium real exchange rates. As Frenkel and Razin (1996) summarize for a small open economy, government expenditures (financed by lump-sum taxes) influence real exchange rates via a resource-withdrawal channel and a consumption-tilting channel. Recent theoretical and empirical studies, such as Froot and Rogoff (1991), Rogoff (1992), De Gregorio, Giovannini, and Krueger (1994), De Gregorio, Giovannini, and Wolf (1994), De Gregorio and Wolf (1994), and Chinn and Johnston (1996), have focused only upon the effects of government spending through the resource-withdrawal channel. Extending Frenkel and Razin (1996), this paper generates closed-form theoretical solutions for the relationships among the real exchange rate, relative per capita private consumption, relative per capita government consumption, and relative per capita tradables and nontradables production in a two-country general equilibrium model. Using relative price level, private and government per capita consumption, and relative productivity data from the Summers and Heston (1991) Penn World Tables and OECD (1996) data for a sample of OECD countries relative to the United States, we estimate the model's structural equations. The results suggest that government expenditures influence equilibrium real exchange rates approximately equally via the resource-withdrawal and consumption-tilting channels. Moreover, the results imply that government spending and private consumption are complements in utility.
Topic:
Economics, Government, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
United States

2672. Venezuela: Popular Sovereignty versus Liberal Democracy

Author:
Michael Coppedge
Publication Date:
04-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
In order to evaluate accurately the state of democratic governance during the first years of the Chávez presidency, one must sharpen the distinction between democracy narrowly defined as popular sovereignty versus the more conventional notion of liberal democracy. Venezuela was no longer a liberal democracy in every respect. Instead, it became an extreme case of delegative democracy. The president enjoyed widespread popular support for almost everything he and his followers did, and this fact qualified his government as "democratic" in the narrow sense of popular sovereignty. But the systematic elimination of constraints on presidential action after 1998 increased the risk that Venezuela would cease to be a democracy by any definition in the future.
Topic:
Civil Society and Government
Political Geography:
South America, Latin America, and Venezuela

2673. From "Restricted"; to "Besieged": The Changing Nature of the Limits to Democracy in Colombia

Author:
Ana Maria Bejarano and Eduardo Pizarro Leongómez
Publication Date:
04-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
During the last decade and a half, Colombia has witnessed both an improvement in the dimensions of democratic participation and contestation and a severe deterioration in those dimensions of democracy related to effective protection of civil liberties and subordination of the military. While the term “semi-democracy” seems most appropriate to classify the Colombian political regime, the restrictions that made the Colombian regime semi-democratic during the second half of the twentieth century have changed in nature. Between 1958 and 1986, restrictions were placed on the competitive dimension of democracy. From the mid-1980s onward, the regime's shortcomings stem from the weakness of the state, the emergence of powerful armed actors, and the absence of the rule of law.
Topic:
Government and Politics
Political Geography:
Colombia, South America, and Latin America

2674. La Atomización Partidista en Colombia: el Fenómeno de las Micro-empresas Electorales

Author:
Eduardo Pizarro Leongómez
Publication Date:
01-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The Colombian Liberal-Conservative bipartyism appeared up until just a decade ago not only as one of the oldest but also as one of the most institutionalized party systems in Latin America. Today, even though a complete party collapse similar to those ocurred in Peru and Venezuela did not take place, the erosion of both parties has followed a path with few historical precedents: an extreme "personalist factionalism" (Giovanni Sartori) or, to use a more coloquial term that has become popular in Colombia, the implosion of parties in tens and tens of electoral micro-businesses.
Topic:
Democratization, Government, and Politics
Political Geography:
Colombia, South America, Latin America, Venezuela, and Peru

2675. Postconflict Elections: War Termination, Democratization, and Demilitarizing Politics

Author:
Terrence Lyons
Publication Date:
02-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University
Abstract:
Outcomes of transitional periods after peace agreements to halt civil wars are critical to sustaining peace and providing the basis for a long-term process of democratization. Understanding these transitional processes and designing policies to promote successful peace implementation are among the greatest challenges of the post–Cold War era. In a number of recent cases, including Angola (1992), Cambodia (1993), El Salvador (1994), Mozambique (1994), Bosnia-Herzegovina (1996), and Liberia (1997), elections have been designated in the peace accord as the mechanism for ending the transition. Such postconflict elections are designed to advance two distinct but interrelated goals – war termination and democratization.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Democratization, Government, and Peace Studies
Political Geography:
Bosnia, Herzegovina, Cambodia, Liberia, Mozambique, and Angola

2676. Administration and Cost of Elections (ACE) Project. The User's Guide to the ACE Project Electronic Resources

Publication Date:
12-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
The political dimensions - the issues, the positioning of parties and candidates, and the results - garner the most media attention and public discussion during an election campaign. Overshadowed, but no less important, however, is the “behind-the-scenes-work” of those ensuring the electoral process comes about without a hitch. If the election goes smoothly, the administration will hardly be noticed. If it does not, accusations of disenfranchisement, manipulation, or malpractice may result, possibly jeopardising the legitimacy and the results of the electoral event.
Topic:
Education, Government, and Politics

2677. Political Parties in Tajikistan

Author:
Saodat Olimova and Anthony Bowyer
Publication Date:
11-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
The main events that took place in Tajikistan in the first few years after independence was attained were characterized by the two diverse processes: the crises in the old political system and its consequent collapse, and the development of a new political system.The political development of sovereign Tajikistan was strongly influenced by Soviet political traditions and the stereotypes of political conduct that formed during the Soviet Union. The bipolarization of political forces at the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s in the USSR did not stimulate the formation of democratic alternatives in political behavior, and in fact limited political choices to the rigid dichotomy of “democracy – anti-democracy,” both for the electorate and the political elites, which eventually led to the breakout of civil war in Tajikistan. The complexity of the situation in Tajikistan was that the elites were just as divided and diverse as the Tajik demographic composition itself, consisting of various ethno-cultural sub-ethnic and ethno-regional groups. Immediately after independence was attained, regional elites of diverse ideological and foreign policy orientations began scrambling for power in the new sovereign state. In 1992-1993 the conflict exploded into a civil war led by two main conflicting camps – the National Front and the United Tajik Opposition (UTO) (a coalition of opposition parties).During the conflict a significant shift of elites took place, as the previously governing elite of Soviet times from Soghd (formerly Leninabad) Oblast in northern Tajikistan was removed from power. The Kulyab regional elite ascended to power, and played the main role during the war in pushing out other regional elites to the periphery of power.Â
Topic:
Democratization and Government
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe

2678. Election Law Compendium of Central and Eastern Europe

Publication Date:
08-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
The objective of this work is to provide a comprehensive collection of the election laws of developing democracies in Central and Eastern Europe. The editor is all too conscious of the difficulty in keeping abreast of the dynamic and vast changes in democratic processes taking place in this area of the world, as reflected in the ever-changing bodies of law governing the conduct of elections.
Topic:
Democratization and Government
Political Geography:
Europe and Eastern Europe

2679. Palestinian Elections

Publication Date:
08-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
The International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES), the International Republican Institute (IRI), and the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), as well as a representative of the Government of Norway, jointly organized a pre-election assessment mission to the West Bank and Gaza between July 14 and July 24, 2002. The purpose of the mission was fourfold: 1) to evaluate the pre-electoral environment and identify the requirements of the Palestinian Authority, political parties, civil society and the international community to establish a meaningful electoral process; 2) to identify the elements of the process that are most vulnerable and the obstacles that must be overcome; 3) to assess the state of technical preparations for elections; and 4) to recommend electoral reform measures that could enhance the transparency and credibility of the process.
Topic:
Government and Politics
Political Geography:
Middle East, Norway, and Palestine

2680. Elections and International Civilian Policing: History and Practice in Peace Operations

Author:
Jeff Fischer
Publication Date:
06-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
This paper explores the role that international civilian police (CIVPOL) have played in transitional elections and profiles specific electoral missions in which CIVPOL have performed a supporting role. The paper continues with a summary and analysis of the electoral activities and responsibilities undertaken by CIVPOL in the case studies. The conclusion looks ahead to areas of potential institutional support to enhance the effectiveness of international civilian policing in electoral missions through capacity development, standardized training, and integrated planning and support of CIVPOL in democracy development.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, Development, and Government