Comparative Democracy: The Economic Development Thesis

Economic Development and Democracy

■ Abstract In this essay, I review recent research on the effects of economic development on democracy. On the theoretical side, for the first time there has been a systematic attempt to bring the types of formal models developed by economists and political scientists outside of comparative politics to bear on the origins of democracy. I present a simple analytical framework that captures some ...

Democracy, Volatility, and Economic Development

Growth stability is an important objective—because development requires sustained increases in income, because volatility is costly for the poor, and because volatility deters growth. We study the determinants of average growth and its volatility as a two-equation system, and find that higher levels of democracy and diversification lower volatility, whereas volatility itself reduces growth. Mus...

Democracy and Economic Development* Democracies and Dictatorships Economic Development and Regime Dynamics Political Regimes and Economic Development Introduction

I examine the mutual relation between political regimes and economic development. An analysis of regime dynamics shows that while the paths to democracy are varied, once established for whatever reasons, democracies survive in developed countries. Contrary to long-standing arguments, political regimes do not affect the rate of investment and of the growth of total income. But since population g...

Computers and Economic Democracy

Forty years ago there was little doubt in the minds of socialists that planning was way of the future. This was borne out by the rapid advance of the planned economies, which with Sputnik and Gagarin seemed to outpace the muddled inefciency of capitalist economies. Today of course the picture looks di erent. In the face of the collapse of Soviet power at the end of the 80s, left wing authors se...

Exploring Cooperatives: Economic Democracy and Community Development in Pennsylvania