(Successful) Democracies Breed Their Own Support

Daron Acemoglu, Nicolas Ajzenman (), Cevat Giray Aksoy, Martin Fiszbein () and Carlos Molina ()
Additional contact information
Nicolas Ajzenman: McGill University
Martin Fiszbein: Boston University
Carlos Molina: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

No 14691, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Using large-scale survey data covering more than 110 countries and exploiting within-country variation across cohorts and surveys, we show that individuals with longer exposure to democracy display stronger support for democratic institutions. We bolster these baseline findings using an instrumental-variables strategy exploiting regional democratization waves and focusing on immigrants' exposure to democracy before migration. In all cases, the timing and nature of the effects are consistent with a causal interpretation. We also establish that democracies breed their own support only when they are successful: all of the effects we estimate work through exposure to democracies that are successful in providing economic growth, peace and political stability, and public goods.

Keywords: institutions; economic growth; democracy; support for democracy; values (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: P16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 81 pages
Date: 2021-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-gro, nep-isf, nep-lam, nep-pol and nep-soc
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

Published - published online in: Review of Economic Studies , 16 May 2024.

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Working Paper: (Successful) Democracies Breed Their Own Support (2021)
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