In a series of works beginning with his 1993 article Dictatorship, Democracy, and Development, Mancur Olson lays out his theory of the stationary bandit. The idea is simple enough. A roving bandit has an incentive to loot, to take everything he can. A bandit who is going to be around a while has an incentive to steal only moderately, so that people have an incentive to invest and grow the pool of resources from which the bandit is stealing. Autocrats who feel securely installed will therefore institute lower tax rates than those who fear being deposed, other things equal. They will also be more likely to invest in public goods.
An Olsonian puzzle
An Olsonian puzzle
An Olsonian puzzle
In a series of works beginning with his 1993 article Dictatorship, Democracy, and Development, Mancur Olson lays out his theory of the stationary bandit. The idea is simple enough. A roving bandit has an incentive to loot, to take everything he can. A bandit who is going to be around a while has an incentive to steal only moderately, so that people have an incentive to invest and grow the pool of resources from which the bandit is stealing. Autocrats who feel securely installed will therefore institute lower tax rates than those who fear being deposed, other things equal. They will also be more likely to invest in public goods.