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A sensitivity analysis of the impact of democracy on economic growth

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Abstract

Often it is maintained that democracy is a luxury which comes at a price in terms of subsequent slower increases in national living standards. However, various recent cross-section studies on economic growth have found evidence that lack of civil and political liberties is negatively correlated with economic growth. Using various measures of democracy the robustness of previous research is examined. Both direct and indirect effects of lack of civil and political liberties are analysed. Our main conclusion is that the relationship between democracy and economic growth is not robust.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, University of Groningen, PO. Box 800, 9700 AV, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Jakob de Haan & Clemens L. J. Siermann

Authors
  1. Jakob de Haan
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  2. Clemens L. J. Siermann
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We would like to thank an anonymous referee for his comments on a previous version of this paper.

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de Haan, J., Siermann, C.L.J. A sensitivity analysis of the impact of democracy on economic growth. Empirical Economics 20, 197–215 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01205435

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01205435

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