The Business Case for Democracy
26 Pages Posted: 14 Oct 2020
Date Written: October 2020
Abstract
I present a business case for democracy, focusing on the impact of democracy on economic growth. This relationship is widely studied, and results are less clear for growth than many other development outcomes such as literacy or infant mortality. I discuss four factors pertaining to data quality and modelling choices, suggesting that several previous studies have underestimated the growth-benefits of democracy. I also discuss the relationship between democracy and economic crises and variation in economic performance. By mitigating abysmal economic outcomes and ensuring more stable performance, democracy is generally of benefit to risk-averse entrepreneurs, investors, workers, and consumers alike.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?
