Democracy Does Cause Growth
We provide evidence that democracy has a positive effect on GDP per capita. Our dynamic panel strategy controls for country fixed effects and the rich dynamics of GDP, which otherwise confound the effect of democracy. To reduce measurement error, we introduce a new indicator of democracy that consol...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
University of Chicago Press
2020
|
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/124287 |
| _version_ | 1826188782370553856 |
|---|---|
| author | Acemoglu, K. Daron Naidu, Suresh Restrepo, Pascual Robinson, James A. |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Economics |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Economics Acemoglu, K. Daron Naidu, Suresh Restrepo, Pascual Robinson, James A. |
| author_sort | Acemoglu, K. Daron |
| collection | MIT |
| description | We provide evidence that democracy has a positive effect on GDP per capita. Our dynamic panel strategy controls for country fixed effects and the rich dynamics of GDP, which otherwise confound the effect of democracy. To reduce measurement error, we introduce a new indicator of democracy that consolidates previous measures. Our baseline results show that democratizations increase GDP per capita by about 20 percent in the long run. We find similar effects using a propensity score reweighting strategy as well as an instrumental-variables strategy using regional waves of democratization. The effects are similar across different levels of development and appear to be driven by greater investments in capital, schooling, and health. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T08:04:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/124287 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T08:04:37Z |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| publisher | University of Chicago Press |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1242872024-02-28T21:24:34Z Democracy Does Cause Growth Acemoglu, K. Daron Naidu, Suresh Restrepo, Pascual Robinson, James A. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Economics We provide evidence that democracy has a positive effect on GDP per capita. Our dynamic panel strategy controls for country fixed effects and the rich dynamics of GDP, which otherwise confound the effect of democracy. To reduce measurement error, we introduce a new indicator of democracy that consolidates previous measures. Our baseline results show that democratizations increase GDP per capita by about 20 percent in the long run. We find similar effects using a propensity score reweighting strategy as well as an instrumental-variables strategy using regional waves of democratization. The effects are similar across different levels of development and appear to be driven by greater investments in capital, schooling, and health. Bradley Foundation United States. Army Research Office. Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (Award W911NF-12-1-0509) 2020-03-24T17:11:45Z 2020-03-24T17:11:45Z 2019-01-19 2019-10-18T16:21:03Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 1537-534X https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/124287 Daron Acemoglu, Suresh Naidu, Pascual Restrepo, and James A. Robinson, "Democracy Does Cause Growth," Journal of Political Economy 127, 1 (February 2019): 47-100. © 2019 The University of Chicago en 10.1086/700936 Journal of Political Economy Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf University of Chicago Press University of Chicago Press |
| spellingShingle | Acemoglu, K. Daron Naidu, Suresh Restrepo, Pascual Robinson, James A. Democracy Does Cause Growth |
| title | Democracy Does Cause Growth |
| title_full | Democracy Does Cause Growth |
| title_fullStr | Democracy Does Cause Growth |
| title_full_unstemmed | Democracy Does Cause Growth |
| title_short | Democracy Does Cause Growth |
| title_sort | democracy does cause growth |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/124287 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT acemoglukdaron democracydoescausegrowth AT naidusuresh democracydoescausegrowth AT restrepopascual democracydoescausegrowth AT robinsonjamesa democracydoescausegrowth |