Democratization and growth
Journal
Economic Journal
Subject
Economics
Publishing details
Authors / Editors
Siourounis G ; Papanioannou E
Biographies
Publication Year
2008
Abstract
This article challenges cross-sectional findings that democracy has a negligible effect on growth. We employ a new dataset of political transitions during the Third Wave of Democratisation and examine the within effect of democratisation in countries that abandoned autocracy and consolidated representative institutions. The panel estimates imply that on average democratisations are associated with a 1% increase in annual per capita growth. The dynamic analysis reveals that: while during the transition growth is slow, in the medium and long run it stabilises at a higher level. This evidence favours development theories of democratic rule and Friedrich Hayek (1960)’s idea that the merits of democracy appear in the long run.
Publication Notes
recipient of the Austin Robinson Memorial Prize and the EEA Young Economist Award
Available on ECCH
No
