BGA Toolbox

Lake

Actors > Interests > Domestic Institutions > International Institutions > Policy

Acemoglu & Robinson

Political Institution=De jure power that influences the distribution of resources (de facto power) impacting political and economic institutions.

Production Model

Y* = A * f(K, L) represents the relationship between output (Y), total factor productivity (A), capital (K), and labor (L).

Ricardo-Viner

Assumes capital is fixed and that the comparative advantage industry wins in trade.

Heckscher-Ohlin

Assumes capital is mobile, with countries specializing in abundant factors of production.

Stolper-Samuelson

Derived from the Heckscher-Ohlin model, stating that the abundant factor industry wins in trade.

Trilemma in Monetary Policy

A country can choose two of the three: macro flexibility, currency stability, open capital markets.

Converse

Voters are not logically constrained and often align with the preferences of their party elites.

Achen & Bartels

Voter behavior is influenced by membership in social groups.

Hainmueller & Hiscox

Education level is correlated with support for trade.

Scheve & Slaughter

Trade decisions are based on long-term gains, asset ownership in disadvantaged areas influences support for or against free trade.

Olson

Individuals are unlikely to act in their collective interest due to the free-rider problem.

Baron

Look at rent chain to analyze who benefits or is harmed by the status quo to determine potential allies.

Kim & Osgood

Big firms can overcome collective action problems due to resource availability and fewer participants.

Downs

Rulers in democracy formulate policy with the sole purpose of remaining in power. Normal distribution  = stable, moderators win. Polarized  = polarizing parties, unstable.

Gilens

Policies strongly reflect the preferences of affluent voters, with negligible correlation to lower-income voter preferences.

Drazen’s Perspective

Policymakers create policies to appease the ruling coalition, which includes parts of the selectorate and friendly companies.

Rudra’s Analysis

Countries often reduce taxes and compromise labor and environmental standards to attract businesses.

Wang’s Observation

Leftist countries tend to lower taxes to maintain the support of labor, their primary ruling coalition.