Determinants of agricultural protection from an international perspective: The role of political institutions

This paper explores the role of political institutions in determining the ability of agriculture to avoid taxation in developing countries or attract government transfers in industrialized countries. The utilized model is based on a probabilistic voting environment, wherein rural districts are less...

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Autor principal: Henning, Christian
Formato: Artículo preliminar
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: International Food Policy Research Institute 2008
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161172
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author Henning, Christian
author_browse Henning, Christian
author_facet Henning, Christian
author_sort Henning, Christian
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description This paper explores the role of political institutions in determining the ability of agriculture to avoid taxation in developing countries or attract government transfers in industrialized countries. The utilized model is based on a probabilistic voting environment, wherein rural districts are less ideologically committed than urban districts in industrialized countries, and the reverse is true in developing countries. As a consequence, in industrialized (developing) countries rural (urban) districts are pivotal in determining the coalition that obtains a majority, whereas urban (rural) districts are pivotal within the majority itself. In bargaining at the level of the legislature, this generates a conflict between a government that tends to favor rural (urban) districts, and a parliamentary majority that is dominated by urban (rural) concerns. As district size grows and the electoral system converges to a purely proportional system, both of these biases are attenuated. Overall, we see opposing nonlinear relationships between district size and agricultural subsidies on the one hand and district size and taxation on the other. In developing countries, taxation of agriculture first increases and then decreases with district magnitude; in industrialized countries, agricultural subsidization first increases and then decreases with district magnitude. Moreover, the impact of district magnitude on the level of agricultural subsidization is attenuated in presidential versus parliamentary systems, while the level of agricultural taxation is amplified in presidential systems. In the present paper, these findings are first theorized and then empirically confirmed by a cross-country analysis of data from 37 countries over a 20-year period.
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spelling CGSpace1611722025-11-06T05:16:17Z Determinants of agricultural protection from an international perspective: The role of political institutions Henning, Christian economic systems agricultural policies rural-urban differences institutions This paper explores the role of political institutions in determining the ability of agriculture to avoid taxation in developing countries or attract government transfers in industrialized countries. The utilized model is based on a probabilistic voting environment, wherein rural districts are less ideologically committed than urban districts in industrialized countries, and the reverse is true in developing countries. As a consequence, in industrialized (developing) countries rural (urban) districts are pivotal in determining the coalition that obtains a majority, whereas urban (rural) districts are pivotal within the majority itself. In bargaining at the level of the legislature, this generates a conflict between a government that tends to favor rural (urban) districts, and a parliamentary majority that is dominated by urban (rural) concerns. As district size grows and the electoral system converges to a purely proportional system, both of these biases are attenuated. Overall, we see opposing nonlinear relationships between district size and agricultural subsidies on the one hand and district size and taxation on the other. In developing countries, taxation of agriculture first increases and then decreases with district magnitude; in industrialized countries, agricultural subsidization first increases and then decreases with district magnitude. Moreover, the impact of district magnitude on the level of agricultural subsidization is attenuated in presidential versus parliamentary systems, while the level of agricultural taxation is amplified in presidential systems. In the present paper, these findings are first theorized and then empirically confirmed by a cross-country analysis of data from 37 countries over a 20-year period. 2008 2024-11-21T09:53:56Z 2024-11-21T09:53:56Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161172 en Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Henning, Christian H.C.A. 2008. Determinants of agricultural protection from an international perspective. IFPRI Discussion Paper 805. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161172
spellingShingle economic systems
agricultural policies
rural-urban differences
institutions
Henning, Christian
Determinants of agricultural protection from an international perspective: The role of political institutions
title Determinants of agricultural protection from an international perspective: The role of political institutions
title_full Determinants of agricultural protection from an international perspective: The role of political institutions
title_fullStr Determinants of agricultural protection from an international perspective: The role of political institutions
title_full_unstemmed Determinants of agricultural protection from an international perspective: The role of political institutions
title_short Determinants of agricultural protection from an international perspective: The role of political institutions
title_sort determinants of agricultural protection from an international perspective the role of political institutions
topic economic systems
agricultural policies
rural-urban differences
institutions
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161172
work_keys_str_mv AT henningchristian determinantsofagriculturalprotectionfromaninternationalperspectivetheroleofpoliticalinstitutions