Visiting Fellow
Education: John M. Olin Pre- and Post-doctoral fellow, Harvard University, 1987; Ph.D., Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, 1986; M.A., University of Toronto, 1977; B.A., Brown University, 1976
Ethan Kapstein is a Visiting Fellow at CGD and Paul Dubrule Professor of Sustainable Development at INSEAD. Prior to this, Kapstein was Stassen Professor of International Peace at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs and Dept. of Political Science at the University of Minnesota (1996-2003). He has also served as Vice President and Director of Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, where he directed a major study on Social Policy in Transition Economies. Kapstein was Principal Administrator, Directorate for Science, Technology, and Industry at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris, France from 1994-1995. In this post, he directed OECD programs in the area of industrial restructuring and defense conversion in the former Soviet Union. From 1987-1994, Kapstein held positions at Harvard University, serving as Director of the Economics and National Security Program in the John M. Olin Institute; Associate at the Center for International Affairs; Lecturer in International Business; and Associate at Leverett House, Harvard College. Kapstein’s recent publications have focused on social policy in developing countries, and on international economic justice. At CGD he is carrying out research on the effects of the international trade regime on developing world growth. His latest book, The Fate of Young Democracies, co-authored with Nathan Converse, is available through Cambridge University Press.
Visit Dr. Kapstein's personal Website
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Before a 2006 UN Special Session proclaimed there should be universal access to antiretrovirals (ARV), the life-saving drugs were far too expensive for most people with AIDS. In a new CGD working paper, Ethan Kapstein and Josh Busby examine how activists transformed ARVs from expensive private goods into so-called merit goods—products that society agrees should be accessible to all. In a related blog post they discuss the implications of their analysis for AIDS and other global challenges.
READ THE BLOG | GO STRAIGHT TO THE WORKING PAPER
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Why do some young democracies fail? Drawing on a unique data set of every democratization episode since 1960, The Fate of Young Democracies explores the underlying reasons for backsliding and reversal in the world’s fledgling democracies and offers proposals for ways that the international community can help these states stay on track toward political stability.
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Why do new democracies sometimes fail? This CGD brief by visiting fellow Ethan Kapstein explores the underlying reasons for frequent backsliding in the world's fledgling democracies and offers the international community recommendations for helping them stay on track toward political stability. Kapstein argues that the international community should encourage political arrangements in which government leaders are constrained by effective checks and balances, and economic policies that help to ensure that the benefits of growth are widely shared.
Learn more
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In this new working paper, CGD visiting fellow Ethan Kapstein and Nathan Converse analyze the economic performance of young democracies around the world and find that stagnating economic performance is a good indicator of imminent democratic reversal. The authors also find evidence suggesting that the design of political institutions significantly influence their probability of survival.
Learn More
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Since 1974 the world has experienced a “third wave” of democratization. Ensuring that these new democracies consolidate is critical to both global prosperity and peace. Unfortunately, the academic literature that might help policy-makers shape appropriate foreign assistance programs remains underdeveloped, in that it lacks strong behavioral foundations, or explanations of why people act the way they do. This paper argues that the process of democratic consolidation requires a transition from clientelistic to contractual exchange relationships. Without that transition, efforts to promote democratic consolidation are unlikely to succeed.
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Before a 2006 UN Special Session proclaimed there should be universal access to antiretrovirals (ARV), the life-saving drugs were far too expensive for most people with AIDS. In a new CGD working paper, Ethan Kapstein and Josh Busby examine how activists transformed ARVs from expensive private goods into so-called merit goods—products that society agrees should be accessible to all. In a related blog post they discuss the implications of their analysis for AIDS and other global challenges.
READ THE BLOG | GO STRAIGHT TO THE WORKING PAPER
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Why do new democracies sometimes fail? This CGD brief by visiting fellow Ethan Kapstein explores the underlying reasons for frequent backsliding in the world's fledgling democracies and offers the international community recommendations for helping them stay on track toward political stability. Kapstein argues that the international community should encourage political arrangements in which government leaders are constrained by effective checks and balances, and economic policies that help to ensure that the benefits of growth are widely shared.
Learn more
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Why do some young democracies fail? Drawing on a unique data set of every democratization episode since 1960, The Fate of Young Democracies explores the underlying reasons for backsliding and reversal in the world’s fledgling democracies and offers proposals for ways that the international community can help these states stay on track toward political stability.
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In this new working paper, CGD visiting fellow Ethan Kapstein and Nathan Converse analyze the economic performance of young democracies around the world and find that stagnating economic performance is a good indicator of imminent democratic reversal. The authors also find evidence suggesting that the design of political institutions significantly influence their probability of survival.
Learn More
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Since 1974 the world has experienced a “third wave” of democratization. Ensuring that these new democracies consolidate is critical to both global prosperity and peace. Unfortunately, the academic literature that might help policy-makers shape appropriate foreign assistance programs remains underdeveloped, in that it lacks strong behavioral foundations, or explanations of why people act the way they do. This paper argues that the process of democratic consolidation requires a transition from clientelistic to contractual exchange relationships. Without that transition, efforts to promote democratic consolidation are unlikely to succeed.
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Making Markets for Merit Goods: The Political Economy of Antiretrovirals - Working Paper 179
- Aug 19, 2009
Before a 2006 UN Special Session proclaimed there should be universal access to antiretrovirals (ARV), the life-saving drugs were far too expensive for most people with AIDS. In a new CGD working paper, Ethan Kapstein and Josh Busby examine how activists transformed ARVs from expensive private goods into so-called merit goods—products that society agrees should be accessible to all. In a related blog post they discuss the implications of their analysis for AIDS and other global challenges.
READ THE BLOG | GO STRAIGHT TO THE WORKING PAPER
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The Fate of Young Democracies
- Dec 10, 2008
Why do some young democracies fail? Drawing on a unique data set of every democratization episode since 1960, The Fate of Young Democracies explores the underlying reasons for backsliding and reversal in the world’s fledgling democracies and offers proposals for ways that the international community can help these states stay on track toward political stability.
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Young Democracies in the Balance: Lessons for the International Community
- Jan 17, 2008
Why do new democracies sometimes fail? This CGD brief by visiting fellow Ethan Kapstein explores the underlying reasons for frequent backsliding in the world's fledgling democracies and offers the international community recommendations for helping them stay on track toward political stability. Kapstein argues that the international community should encourage political arrangements in which government leaders are constrained by effective checks and balances, and economic policies that help to ensure that the benefits of growth are widely shared.
Learn more
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The Economics of Young Democracies: Policies and Performance--Working Paper 85
- Mar 8, 2006
In this new working paper, CGD visiting fellow Ethan Kapstein and Nathan Converse analyze the economic performance of young democracies around the world and find that stagnating economic performance is a good indicator of imminent democratic reversal. The authors also find evidence suggesting that the design of political institutions significantly influence their probability of survival.
Learn More
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Behavioral Foundations of Democracy and Development - Working Paper Number 52
- Dec 28, 2004
Since 1974 the world has experienced a “third wave” of democratization. Ensuring that these new democracies consolidate is critical to both global prosperity and peace. Unfortunately, the academic literature that might help policy-makers shape appropriate foreign assistance programs remains underdeveloped, in that it lacks strong behavioral foundations, or explanations of why people act the way they do. This paper argues that the process of democratic consolidation requires a transition from clientelistic to contractual exchange relationships. Without that transition, efforts to promote democratic consolidation are unlikely to succeed.
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The Fate of Young Democracies
- Dec 10, 2008
Why do some young democracies fail? Drawing on a unique data set of every democratization episode since 1960, The Fate of Young Democracies explores the underlying reasons for backsliding and reversal in the world’s fledgling democracies and offers proposals for ways that the international community can help these states stay on track toward political stability. Join us for an insightful discussion with co-author Ethan Kapstein about the underlying reasons for democratic failure and the implications for policy makers.
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