Ida Bastiaens | Fordham University (original) (raw)

Papers by Ida Bastiaens

Democratization, 2019

How do remittances affect democratization in developing countries? In this paper we reconcile div... more How do remittances affect democratization in developing countries? In this paper we reconcile divergent findings in the literature by examining the effect of remittances on procedural and liberal democracy in developing countries at various stages of their democratic development. Remittances are primarily sent to middle-class individuals and bypass government control. Yet, governments in countries receiving remittances want to tax this remittance income. Government officials therefore need to incentivize participation of the middle class in the formal economy by reducing the threat of expropriation. Improving procedural democracy, which assures citizens of improved property and rule of law protections, is one way to accomplish this. We argue that this relationship should only be present in mixed regime types, with the democratizing effect of remittances waning as the country’s level of democracy or autocracy strengthens. Further, we expect elements of liberal democracy, such as civil rights and equality under the law, to remain unchanged in all remittance-receiving countries. The middle class and governing elite are less incentivized to improve liberal democracy to limit the power and mobilization capacity of the poor and prevent increased redistribution. We test our theory on a dataset of developing countries from 1975 through 2011.

Review of International Organizations, 2020

Free trade generates macroeconomic gains but also creates winners and losers. Historically, to re... more Free trade generates macroeconomic gains but also creates winners and losers. Historically, to reconcile this tension, governments compensated globalization losers with social spending in exchange for support for free trade, known as the embedded liberalism compromise. In the neoliberal era, what other policies can governments pursue to strengthen support for globalization? We assess the effect of social standards in preferential trade agreements (PTAs) on individual preferences for free trade. We analyze data from an original survey experiment and find that respondents in advanced industrialized countries have greater support for free trade when PTAs include social standards. Differences do exist in how these social standards are perceived: while we do find evidence of an embedded liberalism compromise recast, fair trade norms have the most salience. An external validity check using the PEW global attitudes survey confirms the hypothesis. Our analysis has serious implications for the legitimacy of the global trading system suffering from neo-mercantilist creep.

The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 2020

North–South preferential trade agreements (PTAs) have proliferated rapidly in the past decades. D... more North–South preferential trade agreements (PTAs) have proliferated rapidly in the past decades. Despite a common focus on trade liberalisation, these preferential trade agreements differ greatly in their inclusion of labour and environmental provisions. A difference in the enforcement of these social standards is also puzzling: some preferential trade agreements envision sanctions for non-compliance while others do not. What explains this variation? We argue that Northern governments have their hands tied by domestic constituents demanding social standards as a key protectionist instrument. However, different electoral rules moderate the success of these demands. Because majoritarian systems provide a more efficient channel for the mobilisation of protectionist interests, they are more prone to social protectionist bias than their proportional representation counterparts. We assess our hypotheses using panel regressions of all North–South preferential trade agreements. Our analysis refines previous findings on tariff and non-tariff protectionist bias in majoritarian systems and shows how it is manifested in the design of preferential trade agreements.

International Studies Quarterly, 2020

Developing economies need to increase their tax revenue. The international community is keenly aw... more Developing economies need to increase their tax revenue. The international community is keenly aware of this challenge and recently dedicated substantial resources and advocacy to assist countries in mobilizing domestic tax revenue as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Considering, however, the extensive research that foreign aid is often ineffective, it is not obvious that this tax assistance will help developing countries raise revenue. In this article, we assess the impact of international assistance programs for tax purposes (i.e., tax aid) on tax revenue generation, indirect taxation reform, and informality across the developing world. We analyze panel data of 137 developing countries between 1972 and 2013 from the AidData, International Centre for Tax and Development, and World Development Indicators, and World Bank Project Data datasets. We also assess survey data from the World Bank's Enterprise Survey and World Values Survey. Our findings indicate that tax aid does not robustly increase the number of taxpayers, especially in the short run. However, tax aid is effective in generating domestic tax revenue in precisely the way international agencies advocate, namely a strong reliance on the value-added tax.

Review of International Political Economy, 2020

Recent electoral successes for candidates with anti-globalization platforms highlight the need to... more Recent electoral successes for candidates with anti-globalization platforms highlight the need to understand globalization’s effects on voting behavior. To understand how globalization affects whether people vote, we posit that it is necessary to consider both globalization’s distributional effects on individuals and individuals’ beliefs about the general view of globalization among their fellow citizens. Drawing on research about the intrinsic value of voting, we argue that the losers of globalization are less likely to vote relative to the winners. However, losers who believe that others also think globalization is a negative force exhibit a higher likelihood of voting. Winners are also more likely to vote when they perceive their compatriots share their positive view of globalization. Both winners and losers who believe that they hold a view inconsistent with the broader public are less likely to vote. We test our hypotheses using an original survey of Americans. In support of our hypotheses, respondent beliefs about majority opinion (or, as a robustness check, the sociotropic effects of trade) significantly reduce the gap between winners and losers in intention to vote. Our results are replicated using a 2016 Pew survey.

Developing countries are being confronted with severe fiscal challenges in the global economy. Ov... more Developing countries are being confronted with severe fiscal challenges in the global economy. Over the last two decades, governments have been accepting significant reductions in trade taxes to support trade liberalization. This is particularly problematic for developing economies because trade taxes have been a key source of government revenues. In this paper, we investigate the conditions under which international financial institutions (IFIs) successfully assist developing countries with recovering the lost revenue from trade liberalization by implementing various domestic tax reforms. We argue that regime type mediates the effectiveness of IFI assistance in developing economies, after trade reforms have been adopted. More specifically, IFIs will be more effective at assisting authoritarian regimes with domestic tax reforms as a substitute for trade taxes than they will be in poor democracies. Democratically elected leaders inadvertently undermine multilateral assistance with tax reforms because they are more susceptible to middle- and upper-class demands for lower taxes in a competitive global economy. In authoritarian regimes, on the other hand, IFIs such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund tend to be more effective because dictators are likely to experience far fewer political consequences for accepting IFI assistance and implementing tax reform in the global economy than their democratic counterparts.

Driven by food crises and constraints on natural resources, investors are increasingly leasing or... more Driven by food crises and constraints on natural resources, investors are increasingly leasing or purchasing farmland abroad. This study systematically tests which political institutions attract these investors. I argue that food scarcity concerns incentivize foreign investors in agriculture to prioritize unopposed, quick deals above other predicted factors such as low political risk. I thus predict that investors will invest in nondemocratic hosts and hosts with weak laws to ensure fast negotiations, easily transferred land, and minimal citizen opposition. Panel regressions corroborate that the rule of law is statistically insignificant and democracy is negative and statistically significant in predicting agricultural foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows.

Environmental Politics, 2017

Can environmental provisions in preferential trade agreements (PTAs) foster an environmental race... more Can environmental provisions in preferential trade agreements (PTAs) foster an environmental race to the top? The ways in which different enforcement mechanisms in North–South PTAs affect the implementation of environmental standards in developing countries are examined. It is argued that environ- mental provisions in European Union (EU) and United States (US) PTAs will be effective in instigating policy change in partner countries, although the timing of the effect will vary significantly. Fines and sanctions in US PTAs incentivize partner countries to reform during the negotiation process. Reform in EU PTA partners is predicted to occur during agreement implementation as a result of the EU’s policy dialogue approach. Illustrative evidence is provided and the hypotheses are tested using statistical estimations of EU and US PTAs with environmental provisions on developing countries’ environmental policy reform.

International Interactions, 2016

While political scientists find that democracy reduces political risk, little scholarship analyze... more While political scientists find that democracy reduces political risk, little scholarship analyzes how authoritarian regimes attract foreign direct investment (FDI). This article argues that while authoritarian countries are generally risky, this risk can be minimized when authoritarian regimes are constrained from both “above” and “below.” Signing international investment treaties are critical for authoritarian countries to signal a com- mitment to FDI-friendly policies. However, only authoritarian signatories that allow some degree of public deliberation in their policymaking are then constrained from deviating from the policies of the international investment treaties. Panel statistical regressions and a case analysis support the hypothesis.

This study examines the impact of red light districts on the New York City’s land values for the ... more This study examines the impact of red light districts on the New York City’s land values for the years 1867 to 1870 using the monocentric model and bid-rent function as the foundation for the analysis. The results suggest that the Tenderloin red light district is a positive amenity, while the Bleecker and Washington Square red light district is a disamenity.

Journal of European Public Policy, 2014

While both the European Union (EU) and the United States (US) include labor standards in their pr... more While both the European Union (EU) and the United States (US) include labor standards in their preferential trade agreements (PTAs), they pursue different approaches in enforcing these standards. The US relies on coercion while the EU prefers a softer, no-sanctions approach. Are both effective in improving labor rights in partner states and what are the mechanisms leading to this improve- ment? Recent evidence suggests there is a positive ex ante effect of US labor pro- visions as PTA partners improve their labor conditions prior to signing an agreement to satisfy the US constituent preferences. Building on this scholarship, we argue that the effect of EU standards will also be positive but exhibited ex post as a result of learning by civil society actors during the implementation phase of labor provisions. We test and confirm this argument by estimating an ordered probit of the protection of labor rights in EU trade partners before and after signing a PTA.

Child Abuse & Neglect, 2012

To strengthen the evidence-base for policy and practice for support of children outside of family... more To strengthen the evidence-base for policy and practice for support of children outside of family care requires effective, efficient and sustainable mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation. Toward that end, two core questions guided a systematic review of evidence: What strategies are appropriate for monitoring the needs and circumstances of children outside of family care? What strategies are suitable for evaluating the impact of the programs intended to serve such children? A structured document search and review process was implemented within the context of the U.S. Government Evidence Summit on Protecting Children Outside of Family Care of December 2011. Through successive review phases, initially using structured screening criteria, followed by thematic review by an expert panel, 73 documents were identified for analysis. Analysis of models and strategies indicates that: (1) tools are available for assessment of children's needs, but require refining to accommodate contextual demands; (2) well-designed evaluations are able to identify the influence of assistance; (3) long-term follow-up is crucial to developing a strong evidence-base on effective strategies; and (4) insights into systems-wide monitoring mechanisms are emerging. In addition to describing key components of monitoring and evaluation strategies, findings draw attention to the evaluation of children's resiliency and protective factors, community based monitoring and the role of caregivers, as well as concerns over the stigmatization of children (through data collection methodologies encouraging the 'labeling' of children) and the importance of children's participation. Fostering a stronger evidence-base to improve protection for vulnerable children requires evaluations that are integrated into program development, use context-appropriate methodologies able to assess intervention scalability and employ more longitudinal designs to explore children's trajectories. Further, future programming will benefit from systems-wide data coordination and international comparisons, research that emphasizes coping and resilience mechanisms, and children's participation in monitoring and evaluation.

Books by Ida Bastiaens

World Scientific, 2020

Chapter in: The Political Economy of the BRICS Countries Volume 3: Political Economy of Informa... more Chapter in:

The Political Economy of the BRICS Countries

Volume 3: Political Economy of Informality in BRIC Countries
https://doi.org/10.1142/11330-vol3 | March 2020
Pages: 304
Edited By: Santiago López-Cariboni (Universidad Católica del Uruguay, Uruguay)

Globalization has triggered a 'revenue shock' in developing economies. International trade taxes-... more Globalization has triggered a 'revenue shock' in developing economies. International trade taxes-once the primary source of government revenue-have reduced drastically as countries globalize. After governments adopt free trade policies, regime type shapes their ability to effectively implement tax reform. Bastiaens and Rudra argue that democratic policymakers confront greater challenges compared to authoritarian counterparts when it comes to collecting taxes after liberalizing. The repercussions are significant: while the poor bear the brunt of this revenue shortfall in democracies, authoritarian regimes are better-off overall. Paradoxically, citizens of developing country democracies suffer precisely from the greater political freedoms they enjoy, which constrain government's ability to tax and redistribute under globalization. This book uvnveils a critical battle between raising revenue after liberalization and winning elections. At stake is the ability of democratic politicians to help their citizens prosper under globalization. Under current circumstances, this is a difficult fight to win.

Book Reviews by Ida Bastiaens

International Studies Review, 2020

Review of: Jinnah Sikina and Morin Jean-Frédéric. Greening through Trade: How American Trade Poli... more Review of: Jinnah Sikina and Morin Jean-Frédéric. Greening through Trade: How American Trade Policy Is Linked to Environmental Protection Abroad. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2020.

Democratization, 2019

How do remittances affect democratization in developing countries? In this paper we reconcile div... more How do remittances affect democratization in developing countries? In this paper we reconcile divergent findings in the literature by examining the effect of remittances on procedural and liberal democracy in developing countries at various stages of their democratic development. Remittances are primarily sent to middle-class individuals and bypass government control. Yet, governments in countries receiving remittances want to tax this remittance income. Government officials therefore need to incentivize participation of the middle class in the formal economy by reducing the threat of expropriation. Improving procedural democracy, which assures citizens of improved property and rule of law protections, is one way to accomplish this. We argue that this relationship should only be present in mixed regime types, with the democratizing effect of remittances waning as the country’s level of democracy or autocracy strengthens. Further, we expect elements of liberal democracy, such as civil rights and equality under the law, to remain unchanged in all remittance-receiving countries. The middle class and governing elite are less incentivized to improve liberal democracy to limit the power and mobilization capacity of the poor and prevent increased redistribution. We test our theory on a dataset of developing countries from 1975 through 2011.

Review of International Organizations, 2020

Free trade generates macroeconomic gains but also creates winners and losers. Historically, to re... more Free trade generates macroeconomic gains but also creates winners and losers. Historically, to reconcile this tension, governments compensated globalization losers with social spending in exchange for support for free trade, known as the embedded liberalism compromise. In the neoliberal era, what other policies can governments pursue to strengthen support for globalization? We assess the effect of social standards in preferential trade agreements (PTAs) on individual preferences for free trade. We analyze data from an original survey experiment and find that respondents in advanced industrialized countries have greater support for free trade when PTAs include social standards. Differences do exist in how these social standards are perceived: while we do find evidence of an embedded liberalism compromise recast, fair trade norms have the most salience. An external validity check using the PEW global attitudes survey confirms the hypothesis. Our analysis has serious implications for the legitimacy of the global trading system suffering from neo-mercantilist creep.

The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 2020

North–South preferential trade agreements (PTAs) have proliferated rapidly in the past decades. D... more North–South preferential trade agreements (PTAs) have proliferated rapidly in the past decades. Despite a common focus on trade liberalisation, these preferential trade agreements differ greatly in their inclusion of labour and environmental provisions. A difference in the enforcement of these social standards is also puzzling: some preferential trade agreements envision sanctions for non-compliance while others do not. What explains this variation? We argue that Northern governments have their hands tied by domestic constituents demanding social standards as a key protectionist instrument. However, different electoral rules moderate the success of these demands. Because majoritarian systems provide a more efficient channel for the mobilisation of protectionist interests, they are more prone to social protectionist bias than their proportional representation counterparts. We assess our hypotheses using panel regressions of all North–South preferential trade agreements. Our analysis refines previous findings on tariff and non-tariff protectionist bias in majoritarian systems and shows how it is manifested in the design of preferential trade agreements.

International Studies Quarterly, 2020

Developing economies need to increase their tax revenue. The international community is keenly aw... more Developing economies need to increase their tax revenue. The international community is keenly aware of this challenge and recently dedicated substantial resources and advocacy to assist countries in mobilizing domestic tax revenue as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Considering, however, the extensive research that foreign aid is often ineffective, it is not obvious that this tax assistance will help developing countries raise revenue. In this article, we assess the impact of international assistance programs for tax purposes (i.e., tax aid) on tax revenue generation, indirect taxation reform, and informality across the developing world. We analyze panel data of 137 developing countries between 1972 and 2013 from the AidData, International Centre for Tax and Development, and World Development Indicators, and World Bank Project Data datasets. We also assess survey data from the World Bank's Enterprise Survey and World Values Survey. Our findings indicate that tax aid does not robustly increase the number of taxpayers, especially in the short run. However, tax aid is effective in generating domestic tax revenue in precisely the way international agencies advocate, namely a strong reliance on the value-added tax.

Review of International Political Economy, 2020

Recent electoral successes for candidates with anti-globalization platforms highlight the need to... more Recent electoral successes for candidates with anti-globalization platforms highlight the need to understand globalization’s effects on voting behavior. To understand how globalization affects whether people vote, we posit that it is necessary to consider both globalization’s distributional effects on individuals and individuals’ beliefs about the general view of globalization among their fellow citizens. Drawing on research about the intrinsic value of voting, we argue that the losers of globalization are less likely to vote relative to the winners. However, losers who believe that others also think globalization is a negative force exhibit a higher likelihood of voting. Winners are also more likely to vote when they perceive their compatriots share their positive view of globalization. Both winners and losers who believe that they hold a view inconsistent with the broader public are less likely to vote. We test our hypotheses using an original survey of Americans. In support of our hypotheses, respondent beliefs about majority opinion (or, as a robustness check, the sociotropic effects of trade) significantly reduce the gap between winners and losers in intention to vote. Our results are replicated using a 2016 Pew survey.

Developing countries are being confronted with severe fiscal challenges in the global economy. Ov... more Developing countries are being confronted with severe fiscal challenges in the global economy. Over the last two decades, governments have been accepting significant reductions in trade taxes to support trade liberalization. This is particularly problematic for developing economies because trade taxes have been a key source of government revenues. In this paper, we investigate the conditions under which international financial institutions (IFIs) successfully assist developing countries with recovering the lost revenue from trade liberalization by implementing various domestic tax reforms. We argue that regime type mediates the effectiveness of IFI assistance in developing economies, after trade reforms have been adopted. More specifically, IFIs will be more effective at assisting authoritarian regimes with domestic tax reforms as a substitute for trade taxes than they will be in poor democracies. Democratically elected leaders inadvertently undermine multilateral assistance with tax reforms because they are more susceptible to middle- and upper-class demands for lower taxes in a competitive global economy. In authoritarian regimes, on the other hand, IFIs such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund tend to be more effective because dictators are likely to experience far fewer political consequences for accepting IFI assistance and implementing tax reform in the global economy than their democratic counterparts.

Driven by food crises and constraints on natural resources, investors are increasingly leasing or... more Driven by food crises and constraints on natural resources, investors are increasingly leasing or purchasing farmland abroad. This study systematically tests which political institutions attract these investors. I argue that food scarcity concerns incentivize foreign investors in agriculture to prioritize unopposed, quick deals above other predicted factors such as low political risk. I thus predict that investors will invest in nondemocratic hosts and hosts with weak laws to ensure fast negotiations, easily transferred land, and minimal citizen opposition. Panel regressions corroborate that the rule of law is statistically insignificant and democracy is negative and statistically significant in predicting agricultural foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows.

Environmental Politics, 2017

Can environmental provisions in preferential trade agreements (PTAs) foster an environmental race... more Can environmental provisions in preferential trade agreements (PTAs) foster an environmental race to the top? The ways in which different enforcement mechanisms in North–South PTAs affect the implementation of environmental standards in developing countries are examined. It is argued that environ- mental provisions in European Union (EU) and United States (US) PTAs will be effective in instigating policy change in partner countries, although the timing of the effect will vary significantly. Fines and sanctions in US PTAs incentivize partner countries to reform during the negotiation process. Reform in EU PTA partners is predicted to occur during agreement implementation as a result of the EU’s policy dialogue approach. Illustrative evidence is provided and the hypotheses are tested using statistical estimations of EU and US PTAs with environmental provisions on developing countries’ environmental policy reform.

International Interactions, 2016

While political scientists find that democracy reduces political risk, little scholarship analyze... more While political scientists find that democracy reduces political risk, little scholarship analyzes how authoritarian regimes attract foreign direct investment (FDI). This article argues that while authoritarian countries are generally risky, this risk can be minimized when authoritarian regimes are constrained from both “above” and “below.” Signing international investment treaties are critical for authoritarian countries to signal a com- mitment to FDI-friendly policies. However, only authoritarian signatories that allow some degree of public deliberation in their policymaking are then constrained from deviating from the policies of the international investment treaties. Panel statistical regressions and a case analysis support the hypothesis.

This study examines the impact of red light districts on the New York City’s land values for the ... more This study examines the impact of red light districts on the New York City’s land values for the years 1867 to 1870 using the monocentric model and bid-rent function as the foundation for the analysis. The results suggest that the Tenderloin red light district is a positive amenity, while the Bleecker and Washington Square red light district is a disamenity.

Journal of European Public Policy, 2014

While both the European Union (EU) and the United States (US) include labor standards in their pr... more While both the European Union (EU) and the United States (US) include labor standards in their preferential trade agreements (PTAs), they pursue different approaches in enforcing these standards. The US relies on coercion while the EU prefers a softer, no-sanctions approach. Are both effective in improving labor rights in partner states and what are the mechanisms leading to this improve- ment? Recent evidence suggests there is a positive ex ante effect of US labor pro- visions as PTA partners improve their labor conditions prior to signing an agreement to satisfy the US constituent preferences. Building on this scholarship, we argue that the effect of EU standards will also be positive but exhibited ex post as a result of learning by civil society actors during the implementation phase of labor provisions. We test and confirm this argument by estimating an ordered probit of the protection of labor rights in EU trade partners before and after signing a PTA.

Child Abuse & Neglect, 2012

To strengthen the evidence-base for policy and practice for support of children outside of family... more To strengthen the evidence-base for policy and practice for support of children outside of family care requires effective, efficient and sustainable mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation. Toward that end, two core questions guided a systematic review of evidence: What strategies are appropriate for monitoring the needs and circumstances of children outside of family care? What strategies are suitable for evaluating the impact of the programs intended to serve such children? A structured document search and review process was implemented within the context of the U.S. Government Evidence Summit on Protecting Children Outside of Family Care of December 2011. Through successive review phases, initially using structured screening criteria, followed by thematic review by an expert panel, 73 documents were identified for analysis. Analysis of models and strategies indicates that: (1) tools are available for assessment of children's needs, but require refining to accommodate contextual demands; (2) well-designed evaluations are able to identify the influence of assistance; (3) long-term follow-up is crucial to developing a strong evidence-base on effective strategies; and (4) insights into systems-wide monitoring mechanisms are emerging. In addition to describing key components of monitoring and evaluation strategies, findings draw attention to the evaluation of children's resiliency and protective factors, community based monitoring and the role of caregivers, as well as concerns over the stigmatization of children (through data collection methodologies encouraging the 'labeling' of children) and the importance of children's participation. Fostering a stronger evidence-base to improve protection for vulnerable children requires evaluations that are integrated into program development, use context-appropriate methodologies able to assess intervention scalability and employ more longitudinal designs to explore children's trajectories. Further, future programming will benefit from systems-wide data coordination and international comparisons, research that emphasizes coping and resilience mechanisms, and children's participation in monitoring and evaluation.

World Scientific, 2020

Chapter in: The Political Economy of the BRICS Countries Volume 3: Political Economy of Informa... more Chapter in:

The Political Economy of the BRICS Countries

Volume 3: Political Economy of Informality in BRIC Countries
https://doi.org/10.1142/11330-vol3 | March 2020
Pages: 304
Edited By: Santiago López-Cariboni (Universidad Católica del Uruguay, Uruguay)

Globalization has triggered a 'revenue shock' in developing economies. International trade taxes-... more Globalization has triggered a 'revenue shock' in developing economies. International trade taxes-once the primary source of government revenue-have reduced drastically as countries globalize. After governments adopt free trade policies, regime type shapes their ability to effectively implement tax reform. Bastiaens and Rudra argue that democratic policymakers confront greater challenges compared to authoritarian counterparts when it comes to collecting taxes after liberalizing. The repercussions are significant: while the poor bear the brunt of this revenue shortfall in democracies, authoritarian regimes are better-off overall. Paradoxically, citizens of developing country democracies suffer precisely from the greater political freedoms they enjoy, which constrain government's ability to tax and redistribute under globalization. This book uvnveils a critical battle between raising revenue after liberalization and winning elections. At stake is the ability of democratic politicians to help their citizens prosper under globalization. Under current circumstances, this is a difficult fight to win.

International Studies Review, 2020

Review of: Jinnah Sikina and Morin Jean-Frédéric. Greening through Trade: How American Trade Poli... more Review of: Jinnah Sikina and Morin Jean-Frédéric. Greening through Trade: How American Trade Policy Is Linked to Environmental Protection Abroad. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2020.