Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T06:45:56.089Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Why Resource-poor Dictators Allow Freer Media: A Theory and Evidence from Panel Data

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 November 2009

GEORGY EGOROV ,
SERGEI GURIEV  and
KONSTANTIN SONIN
GEORGY EGOROV*
Affiliation:
Northwestern University
SERGEI GURIEV*
Affiliation:
New Economic School
KONSTANTIN SONIN*
Affiliation:
New Economic School
*
Georgy Egorov is Assistant Professor of Managerial Economics and Decision Sciences, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 2001 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208 ([email protected]).
Sergei Guriev is Morgan Stanley Professor of Economics, New Economic School and Centre for Economic and Financial Research (CEFIR), Moscow; also, Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), London; c/o 47 Nakhimovsky pr., Moscow 117418, Russia ([email protected]).
Konstantin Sonin is SUEK Professor of Economics, New Economic School and Centre for Economic and Financial Research (CEFIR), Moscow; also, Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), London; Visiting Professor, Managerial Economics and Decision Sciences, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 2001 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208 ([email protected]).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Every dictator dislikes free media. Yet, many nondemocratic countries have partially free or almost free media. In this article, we develop a theory of media freedom in dictatorships and provide systematic statistical evidence in support of this theory. In our model, free media allow a dictator to provide incentives to bureaucrats and therefore to improve the quality of government. The importance of this benefit varies with the natural resource endowment. In resource-rich countries, bureaucratic incentives are less important for the dictator; hence, media freedom is less likely to emerge. Using panel data, we show that controlling for country fixed effects, media are less free in oil-rich economies, with the effect especially pronounced in nondemocratic regimes. These results are robust to model specification and the inclusion of various controls, including the level of economic development, democracy, country size, size of government, and others.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 103 , Issue 4 , November 2009 , pp. 645 - 668
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Acemoglu, Daron. 2003. “Why Not a Political Case Theorem? Social Conflict, Commitment and Politics.” Journal of Comparative Economics, 31: 620–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Acemoglu, Daron. 2006. “Modeling Inefficient Institutions.” In Advances in Economics and Econometrics—Theory and Applications: Ninth World Congress, eds. Blundell, R., Newey, W., and Persson, T., 341–80. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Acemoglu, Daron, and Robinson, James. 2005. Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Acemoglu, Daron, Robinson, James, and Verdier, Thierry. 2004. “Kleptocracy and Divide-and-Rule: A Model of Personal Rule.” The Alfred Marshall Lecture. Journal of the European Economic Association Papers and Proceedings 2: 162–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Auty, Richard. 2001. Resource Abundance and Economic Development. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Besley, Timothy, and Prat, Andrea. 2006. “Handcuffs for the Grabbing Hand? Media Capture and Political Accountability.” American Economic Review 96 (3): 720–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boschini, Anne, Pettersson, Jan, and Roine, Jesper. 2006. “Resource Curse or Not: A Question of Appropriability.” Stockholm School of Economics. Mimeo.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boix, Carles, and Svolik, Milan. 2007. “The Foundations of Limited Authoritarian Government: Institutions and Power-Sharing in Dictatorships.” Princeton University. Mimeo.Google Scholar
BRATT. 2006. “Russian Money Pipeline to Belarus.” Belorussian-Russian Analytical Think Tank Report #6, March.Google Scholar
Bueno de Mesquita, Bruce, Smith, Alastair, Silverson, Randolph, and Morrow, James. 2003. The Logic of Political Survival. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bueno de Mesquita, Bruce, and Downs, George W.. 2005. “Development and Democracy.” Foreign Affairs 84 (5): 77–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chehabi, H. E., and Linz, Juan J.. 1998. Sultanistic Regimes. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caselli, Franchesco. 2006. “Power Struggle and the Natural Resource Curse.” London School of Economics. Mimeo.Google Scholar
Chaudhry, Kiren. 1997. The Price of Wealth. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Chwe, Michael. 2003. Rational Ritual: Culture, Coordination, and Common Knowledge. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Debs, Alexandre. 2007. “Divide-and-Rule and the Media.” MIT. Mimeo.Google Scholar
Dunning, Thad. 2005. Resource Dependence, Economic Performance, and Political Stability. Journal of Conflict Resolution 49 (4): 451–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dyck, Alexander, and Zingales, Luigi. 2002. “The Corporate Governance Role of the Media.” In The Right to Tell: The Role of the Media in Development, ed. Islam, R.. Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
Edmond, Chris. 2005. “Information Manipulation, Coordination and Regime Change.” New York University. Mimeo.Google Scholar
Egorov, Georgy, and Sonin, Konstantin. n.d. “Dictators and Their Viziers: Endogenizing the Loyalty-Competence Trade-off.” Journal of the European Economic Association. Forthcoming.Google Scholar
Evans, Peter B., and Rauch, James. 1999. “Bureaucracy and Growth: A Cross-National Analysis of the Effects of ‘Weberian’ State Structures on Economic Growth.” American Sociological Review 64 (5): 748–65.Google Scholar
Evans, Peter B., and Rauch, James. 2000. “Bureaucratic Structure and Bureaucratic Performance in Less Developed Countries.” Journal of Public Economics 75: 49–71.Google Scholar
Gandhi, Jennifer, and Przeworski, Adam. 2006. “Cooperation, Cooptation, and Rebellion under Dictatorships.” Economics and Politics 18: 1–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gehlbach, Scott, and Keefer, Philip. 2006. “Investment Without Democracy: Ruling-Party Institutionalization and Credible Commitment in Autocracies.” University of Wisconsin–Madison. Mimeo.Google Scholar
Gehlbach, Scott, and Sonin, Konstantin. 2008. “Government Conrol of Media.” New Economic School. Mimeo.Google Scholar
Gelb, Alan. 1988. Oil Windfalls: Blessing or Curse? Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Gentzkow, Matthew, and Shapiro, Jesse M.. 2008. “Competition and Truth in the Market for News.” Journal of Economic Perspectives. 22 (2): 133–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gylfason, Thorvaldur, Herbertsson, Tryggvi, and Zoega, Gylfi. 1999. “A Mixed Blessing: Natural Resources in an Endogenous Growth Model.” Macroeconomic Dynamics 3: 204–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hamilton, Kirk, and Clemens, Michael. 1999. “Genuine Savings Rates in Developing Countries.” World Bank Economic Review 13 (2): 333–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hardin, Russel. 1995. One for All: The Logic of Group Conflict. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Herb, Michael. 2005. “No Representation Without Taxation? Rents, Development, and Democracy.” Comparative Politics 37 (3): 297–316.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hill, Fiona. 2005. Beyond the Colored Revolutions. Keynote speech at the 6th Annual Conference of the Central Eurasia Studies Society, Boston.Google Scholar
Hodler, Roland. 2006. “The Curse of Natural Resources in Fractionalized Countries.” European Economic Review 50: 1367–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jakes, Susan. 2003 “Beijing Hoodwinks WHO Inspectors,” Time, 18 April.Google Scholar
Jensen, Nathan, and Wantchekon, Leonard. 2004. “Resource Wealth and Political Regimes in Africa.” Comparative Political Studies 37 (7): 816–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karl, Tierry. 1997. The Paradox of Plenty: Oil Booms and Petro-State. Berkeley: University of California Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaufmann, Daniel. 2006. “Media, Governance and Development. Challenging Convention: An Empirical Perspective.” World Bank Institute. Mimeo.Google Scholar
Krugman, Paul. 1987. “The Narrow Moving Band, the Dutch Disease, and the Economic Consequences of Mrs. Thatcher: Notes on Trade in the Presence of Dynamic Economies of Scale.” Journal of Development Economics 27 (1–2): 41–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lagunoff, Roger. 2006. “Markov Equilibrium in Models of Dynamic Endogenous Political Institutions.” Georgetown University. Mimeo.Google Scholar
Lane, Philip, and Tornell, Aaron. 1996. “Power, Growth and the Voracity Effect.” Journal of Economic Growth 1: 213–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lenin, Vladimir. 1921. Lenin: Collected Works. Moscow: Progress.Google Scholar
Lohmann, Susanne. 1994. “The Dynamics of Informational Cascades: The Monday Demonstrations in Leipzig, 1989–91.” World Politics 47: 42–101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lorentzen, Peter. 2007. “Regularized Rioting: The Strategic Toleration of Public Protest in China.” Stanford University. Mimeo.Google Scholar
Maskin, Eric, and Tirole, Jean. 2001. “Markov Perfect Equilibrium I. Observable Actions.” Journal of Economic Theory 100 (2): 191–219.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McFaul, Michael. 2005. “Transitions from Postcommunism.” Journal of Democracy 16 (3): 5–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mehlum, Halvor, Moene, Karl Ove, and Torvik, Ragnar. 2006. “Institutions and the Resource Curse.” Economic Journal 116: 1–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morrison, Kevin. 2009. “Oil, Nontax Revenue, and the Redistributional Foundations of Regime Stability.” International Organization 63: 107–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
North, Douglass. 1981. Structure and Change in Economic History. New York: Norton.Google Scholar
North, Douglass. 1991. “Institutions.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 5 (1): 97–112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peterson, Glen. 1997. The Power of Words: Literacy and Revolution in South China, 1949–95. UBC Press.Google Scholar
Pomfret, John. 2003. “Outbreak Gave China's Hu an Opening; President Responded to Pressure Inside and Outside Country on SARS,” Washington Post, 13 May.Google Scholar
Przeworski, Adam, Alvarez, Michael, Cheibub, Jose Antonio, and Limongi, Fernando. 2000. Democracy and Development: Political Institutions and Well-Being in the World. Cambridge Studies in the Theory of Democracy. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Przeworski, Adam, and Limongi, Fernando. 1993. “Political Regimes and Economic Growth.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 7: 51–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reinikka, Ritva, and Svensson, Jakob. 2005. “Fighting Corruption to Improve Schooling: Evidence from a Newspaper Campaign in Uganda.” Journal of European Economic Association 3 (2): 259–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ross, Michael. 2001. “Does Oil Hinder Democracy?” World Politics 53 (3): 325–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ross, Michael L. 2003. “The Natural Resource Curse: How Wealth Can Make You Poor.” In Natural Resources and Violent Conflict: Options and Actions, eds. Bannon, I. and Collier, P.. Washington, DC: World Bank, 17–42.Google Scholar
Ross, Michael. 2006. “A Closer Look at Oil, Diamonds, and Civil War.” Annual Review of Political Science 9: 265–300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sachs, Jeffrey, and Warner, Andrew. 1996. “Achieving Rapid Growth in the Transition Economies of Central Europe.” Working Paper 116. Stockholm: SITE.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sachs, Jeffrey, and Warner, Andrew. 1997a. “Sources of Slow Growth in African Economies.” Journal of African Economies 6 (3): 335–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sachs, Jeffrey, and Warner, Andrew. 1997b. “Fundamental Sources of Long Run Growth.” American Economic Review 87 (2): 184–88.Google Scholar
Saich, Anthony. 2003. The Real Fallout from China's Chernobyl,” Financial Times, 27 May.Google Scholar
Saich, Anthony. 2005. “SARS: China's Chernobyl or Much Ado about Nothing.” In SARS in China: Prelude to Pandemic, eds. Kleinman, A. and Watson, J.. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 71–104.Google Scholar
Sen, Amartya. 1999. Development as Freedom. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Shafer, Michael. 1994. Winners and Losers: How Sectors Shape the Developmental Prospects of States. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Smith, Alastair. 2008. “Revolutionary Pressures and the Survival of Political Leaders.” New York University. Mimeo.Google Scholar
Smith, Benjamin. 2004. “Oil Wealth and Regime Survival in the Developing World, 1960–1999.” American Journal of Political Science 48 (2): 232–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snyder, Richard. 2006. “Does Lootable Wealth Breed Disorder? A Political Economy of Extraction Framework.” Comparative Political Studies 39 (8): 943–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Svaleryd, Helena, and Vlachos, Jonas. 2006. “Political Rents in a Mature Democracy.” SITE, Stockholm. Mimeo.Google Scholar
Tilly, Charles. 1978. From Mobilization to Revolution. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.Google Scholar
Tsui, Kevin. 2005. “More Oil, Less Democracy?: Theory and Evidence from Crude Oil Discoveries.” The University of Chicago. Mimeo.Google Scholar
Ulfelder, Jay. 2007. “Natural-Resource Wealth and the Survival of Autocracy.” Comparative Political Studies 40 (8): 995–1018.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yardley, Jim. 2007. “China Sets Out to Cut Secrecy, But Laws Leave Big Loopholes,” New York Times, 25 April.Google Scholar
Wantchekon, Leonard. 2002. “Why Do Resource Abundant Countries Have Authoritarian Governments?” Journal of African Finance and Economic Development 2: 57–77.Google Scholar
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.