@techreport{Heinemann2004Explaining,
abstract = {Countries are often slow to adjust their economic structures to new necessities
although this reform reluctance is costly in terms of growth and employment. This
paper analyses the relevant factors that block or foster economic reforms.
Theoretical considerations show that there are at least three classes of potentially
relevant factors: the objective need for reforms, political-economic issues and
factors associated with limited rationality or rational ignorance. In the empirical
analysis, a reform event is quantified as a significant change of the Economic
Freedom of the World indicator within a five-year-period. This allows to run probit
estimations for a large country panel starting in the 1970s where the probability of
reform is explained by a number of proxies covering all three classes of potential
factors. The results suggest that the initial extent of economic freedom and growth
performance are empirically relevant factors. Furthermore, countries with an ageing
population appear to behave less reform friendly.},
address = {Mannheim},
author = {Friedrich Heinemann},
copyright = {http://www.econstor.eu/dspace/Nutzungsbedingungen},
keywords = {E63; H00; 330; economic policy reforms; economic freedom; reform resistance; limited rationality; Wirtschaftsreform; Sozialreform; Soziale Bewegung; Public Choice; Beschr\"{a}nkte Rationalit\"{a}t; Sch\"{a}tzung; Wirtschaftsliberalismus; Welt},
language = {eng},
number = {04-39},
publisher = {Zentrum f\"{u}r Europ\"{a}ische Wirtschaftsforschung (ZEW)},
title = {Explaining Reform Deadlocks},
type = {ZEW Discussion Papers},
url = {http://hdl.handle.net/10419/24048},
year = {2004}
}
