• Title of article

    Reevaluatingthemodernizationhypothesis

  • Author/Authors

    Daron Acemoglu، نويسنده ,

  • Issue Information
    روزنامه با شماره پیاپی سال 2008
  • Pages
    16
  • From page
    1043
  • To page
    1058
  • Abstract
    We revisitandcriticallyreevaluatethewidelyacceptedmodernizationhypothesis which claimsthatpercapitaincomecausesthecreationandtheconsolidationof democracy.Existingstudiesfindsupportforthishypothesisbecausetheyfailtocontrol for thepresenceofomittedvariables.Controllingforthesefactorseitherbyincluding countryfixedeffectsinalinearmodelorbyincludingparameterizedrandomeffectsina nonlineardoublehazardmodelremovesthecorrelationbetweenincomeandthe likelihoodoftransitionstoandfromdemocraticregimes.Inaddition,theestimated fixed effectsfromthelinearmodelarerelatedtohistoricalfactorsthataffectboththe level ofincomepercapitaandthelikelihoodofdemocracyinacountry.Thisevidenceis consistentwiththeideathateventsduringcriticalhistoricaljuncturescanleadto divergentpolitical–economicdevelopmentpaths,someleadingtoprosperityand democracy,otherstorelativepovertyandnon-democracy.
  • Keywords
    DemocracyEconomic growthInstitutionsPolitical development
  • Journal title
    Journal of Monetary Economics
  • Serial Year
    2008
  • Journal title
    Journal of Monetary Economics
  • Record number

    846351