Opportunistic Political Cycles: Test in a Young Democracy Setting

@article{Akhmedov2003OpportunisticPC,
  title={Opportunistic Political Cycles: Test in a Young Democracy Setting},
  author={Akhmed Akhmedov and Ekaterina Zhuravskaya},
  journal={Institutional \& Transition Economics eJournal},
  year={2003}
}
This paper tests the theory of opportunistic cycles in a decade-old democracy, Russia, finds strong evidence of cycles, and provides explanation for why previous literature often found weaker evidence. Using the comprehensive list of Russia's regional elections and regional monthly panel data between 1996 and 2003, we find that: (1) budget cycle is very sizable and short-lived: large expansion and contraction in fiscal spending occur within two months of elections on both sides; (2) the… 
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References

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