| Abstract: |
Abstract: This article explores the inter-relationship of collective action
within the business community, the nature of the political regime and the
security of firms’ property rights. Drawing on a pair of surveys recently
administered in Russia, we present evidence that post-communist business
associations have begun to coordinate business influence over state actors in
a manner that is sensitive to regional politics. A firm’s ability to defend
itself from government predation and to shape its institutional environment as
well as its propensity to invest in physical capital are strongly related to
both its membership in a business association and the level of democratization
in its region. Of particular note, the positive effect of association
membership on securing property rights increases in less democratic regions.
The evidence, that is, suggests that collective action in the business
community substitutes for democratic pressure in constraining public officials. |