Guns, butter, and debt: sovereign creditworthiness and military expenditure
In: Journal of peace research, Volume 52, Issue 5, p. 680-693
ISSN: 0022-3433
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In: Journal of peace research, Volume 52, Issue 5, p. 680-693
ISSN: 0022-3433
World Affairs Online
In: Foreign policy analysis: a journal of the International Studies Association, Volume 11, Issue 3, p. 317-338
ISSN: 1743-8586
World Affairs Online
In: Economics & Politics, Volume 28, Issue 3, p. 342-367
SSRN
In: British journal of political science, Volume 47, Issue 4, p. 783-807
ISSN: 1469-2112
Leaders are assumed to face fiscal constraints on their ability to remain in office by competitively distributing public and/or private goods. However, many leaders can relax this constraint by borrowing on sovereign credit markets. This article argues that states with the fiscal flexibility offered by favorable credit terms have the resources necessary to (1) respond to citizen demands with policies other than widespread repression and (2) avoid agency loss that may result in unauthorized repression by state agents. Empirical analyses indicate that creditworthy states have greater respect for physical integrity rights and are less likely to suffer diminished respect for those rights when facing violent dissent or negative shocks to government revenues.
In: British journal of political science, p. 1-25
ISSN: 0007-1234
In: International studies quarterly: the journal of the International Studies Association, Volume 59, Issue 3, p. 557-570
ISSN: 0020-8833, 1079-1760
World Affairs Online
In: Journal of peace research, Volume 49, Issue 3, p. 391-405
ISSN: 1460-3578
Previous research indicates that a lack of state capacity is a key determinant of internal armed conflict. Scholars identify several internal dimensions of state capacity, but have yet to explore how international finance influences state resources. This is surprising because sovereign lending has increased dramatically in recent decades and plays an increasing role in the functioning of developed and developing governments. In this article, we explore this relationship between a state's integration into global credit markets and its subsequent capacity to promote domestic stability. We argue that international capital increases a state's ability to respond to internal opposition because states with favorable credit terms can expand their resource base beyond domestic constraints to deter, accommodate, or repress opposition while maintaining a level provision of resources to their political base. We examine the influence that both capital access and credit terms have on the risk of civil conflict in 141 countries from 1981 to 2007. Our empirical results indicate that states with affordable credit access are indeed less likely to experience civil conflict.
In: Journal of peace research, Volume 49, Issue 3, p. 391-405
ISSN: 0022-3433
World Affairs Online