Democratic Capital: The Nexus of Political and Economic Change
Torsten Persson () and
Guido Tabellini
American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, 2009, vol. 1, issue 2, 88-126
Abstract:
We study the dynamics of economic and political change, theoretically and empirically. Democratic capital measured by a nation's historical experience with democracy, and the incidence of democracy in its neighborhood, appears to reduce exit rates from democracy and raise exit rates from autocracy. Higher democratic capital stimulates growth by increasing the stability of democracies. Heterogeneous effects of democracy induce sorting of countries into political regimes, which helps explain systematic differences between democracies and autocracies. Our results suggest the possibility of a virtuous circle, where accumulation of physical and democratic capital reinforce each other, promoting economic development and consolidation of democracy. (JEL D72, I31, N10, N40, O47)
JEL-codes: D72 I31 N10 N40 O47 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
Note: DOI: 10.1257/mac.1.2.88
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Related works:
Working Paper: Democratic capital: The nexus of political and economic change (2006) 
Working Paper: Democratic Capital: The Nexus of Political and Economic Change (2006) 
Working Paper: Democratic capital: The nexus of political and economic change (2006) 
Working Paper: Democratic Capital: The Nexus of Political and Economic Change (2006) 
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