Abstract
This article focuses on two previously unexamined aspects of the relationship between economic growth and democracy. First, the growth experiences of countries that experience significant changes in democracy are examined directly. Countries that democratize are found to grow faster than a priori similar countries, while countries that become less democratic grow more slowly than comparable countries. These differences do not seem to be due to differences in education or investment levels. Second, regression tree analysis suggests that democracy, along with initial income and literacy, contributes to the identification of regimes of countries facing similar aggregate production functions.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Acemoglu, D., and J. A. Robinson. (1996). “Why did the West Extend the Franchise? Democracy, Inequality, and Growth in Historical Perspective.” Working paper.
Azariadis, C., and A. Drazen. (1990). “Threshold Externalities in Economic Development.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 105, 501–526.
Barro, R. J. (1991). “Economic Growth in a Cross-Section of Countries.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 106, 407–443.
Barro, R. J. (1996). “Democracy and Growth.” Journal of Economic Growth 1, 1–27.
Barro, R. J. (1997). “Determinants of Democracy.” Harvard Institute for International Development Discussion Paper 570.
Barro, R. J., and J. Lee. (1994). “Sources of Economic Growth.” Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Publin Policy 40, 1–46. Data set available from the NBER web site (http: //www.nber.org).
Bickel, P. J., and K. A. Doksum. (1977). Mathematical Statistics. San Francisco: Holden-Day.
Bollen, K. A. (1980). “Issues in the Comparative Measurement of Political Democracy.” American Sociological Review 45, 370–390.
Bollen, K. A. (1990). “Political Democracy: Conceptual and Measurement Traps.” Studies in Comparative International Development, 7–24.
Bollen, K. A. (1993). “Liberal Democracy: Validity and Method Factors in Cross-National Measures.” American Journal of Political Science 37, 1207–1230.
Breiman, L., J. L. Friedman, R. A. Olshen, and C. J. Stone. (1984). Classification and Regression Trees. Pacific Grove, CA: Wadsworth.
De Long, B., and A. Shleifer. (1993). “Princes and Merchants: European City Growth Before the Industrial Revolution.” Journal of Law and Economics 36, 671–702.
Diamond, L., J. J. Linz, and S. M. Lipset (eds.). (1988). Democracy in Developing Countries (4 vols.). Boulder: Lynne Reiner.
Durlauf, S. N., and P. A. Johnson. (1994). “Multiple Regimes and Cross-Country Growth Behavior.” Journal of Applied Econometrics 10, 365–384. “Economic Indicators.” The Economist, June 28, 1997.
Gastil, R. D. (1990). “The Comparative Survey of Freedom: Experiences and Suggestions.” Studies in Comparative International Development, 25–50.
Gastil, R. D. and others (1995 and previous years). Freedom in the World. New York: Freedom House.
de Haan, J., and C. Siermann. (1995). “A Sensitivity Analysis on the Impact of Democracy on Economic Growth.” Empirical Economics 20, 197–215.
Hadenius, A. (1992). Democracy and Development. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Haggard, S., and R. R. Kaufman. (1995). The Political Economy of Democratic Traditions. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Hamilton, J. D. (1994). Time Series Analysis. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Härdle, W. (1990). Applied Nonparametric Regression. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Helliwell, J. (1994). “Empirical Linkages Between Democracy and Economic Growth.” British Journal of Political Science 24, 225–248.
Human Rights Quarterly. (1986), 8(4). Special edition on measures of human rights.
Huntington, S. P. (1991). The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.
Levine, R., and D. Renelt. (1992). “A Sensitivity Analysis of Cross-Country Growth Regressions.” American Economic Review 82, 942–963.
Lipset, S. M. (1959). “Some Social Requisites of Democracy: Economic Development and Political Legitimacy.” American Political Science Review 53, 69–105.
Mankiw, N. G., D. Romer, and D. N. Weil. (1992). “A Contribution to the Empirics of Economic Growth.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 107, 407–437.
Manski, C. F. (1991). “Regression.” Journal of Economic Literature 29, 34–50.
Minier, J. A. (1998). “An Empirical Analysis of Democratic Movements.” Manuscript.
Moore, B. Jr. (1966). Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Lord and Peasant in the Making of the Modern World. Boston: Beacon.
Olson, M. (1963). “Rapid Growth as a Destabilizing Force.” Journal of Economic History 23, 529–552.
Olson, M. (1982). The Rise and Decline of Nations. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Olson, M. (1993). “Dictatorship, Democracy and Development.” American Political Science Review 87, 567–576.
Perotti, R. (1996). “Growth, Income Distribution and Democracy: What the Data Say.” Journal of Economic Growth 1, 149–187.
Persson, T., and G. Tabellini. (1992). “Growth, Distribution and Politics.” European Economic Review 36, 593–602.
Przeworski, A., and F. Limongi. (1993). “Political Regimes and Economic Growth.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 7, 51–69.
Rao, V. (1984). “Democracy and Economic Development.” Studies in Comparative International Development 19, 67–81.
Rueschemeyer, D., E. H. Stephens, and J. D. Stephens. (1992). Capitalist Development and Democracy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Rustow, D. A. (1970). “Transitions to Democracy: Toward a Dynamic Model.” Comparative Politics 2, 337–363.
Scheffé, H. (1970). “Practical Solutions of the Behrens-Fisher Problem.” Journal of the American Statistical Association 65, 1501–1508.
Sirowy, L., and A. Inkeles. (1990). “The Effects of Democracy on Economic Growth and Income Inequality: A Review.” Studies in Comparative International Development 25, 126–157.
Steele, J. (1994). Eternal Russia: Yeltsin, Gorbachev, and the Mirage of Democracy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Summers, R., and A. Heston. (1994). “Penn World Table Mark 5.6.” Data set available from the NBER web site (http: //www.nber.org/pwt56.html). Updated version of Summers and Heston (1991). “The Penn World Table (Mark 5): An Expanded Set of International Comparisons 1950–1988.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 106(9). “Survey Methodology,” [Comparative Study of Freedom,] 1997. Freedom Review 28.
Wiseman, J. A. (1990). Democracy in Black Africa: Survival and Revival. New York: Paragon House.
Wiseman, J. A. (1996). The New Struggle for Democracy in Africa. Aldershot, UK: Avebury.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Minier, J.A. Democracy and Growth: Alternative Approaches. Journal of Economic Growth 3, 241–266 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009714821770
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009714821770