Ethan Kapstein

Visiting Fellow
Fairer trade; inequality and growth; political economy
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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
Media Contact: Jessica Brinton

Ethan Kapstein is a visiting fellow at the Center for Global Development 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

New Popular Working Papers Other CGD Pubs Events Selected Works
  • 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...

  • 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...

  • 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....

  • 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...

  • 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...

There are no related books.
  • 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...

  • 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....

  • 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...

The Fate of Young Democracies, co-authored with Nathan Converse, Cambridge University Press.

The Economics of Young Democracies: Policies and Performance - Working Paper 85

Behavioral Foundations of Democracy and Development - Working Paper 52

Non-CGD Publications

  • The Fate of Young Democracies, co-authored with Nathan Converse, Cambridge University Press.
  • The New Global Slave Trade, Foreign Affairs, November/December 2006. This article is reprinted by permission of FOREIGN AFFAIRS (www.foreignaffairs.org), Copyright 2006 by the Council on Foreign Relations.

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