Title: Does democracy really promote development?

Authors: Rock-Antoine Mehanna

Addresses: Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Notre Dame University, P.O. Box 72 Zouk Mikael, Zouk Mosbeh, Lebanon

Abstract: There is a growing consensus across political circles in several developed countries and among donor agencies that democracy is an essential prerequisite for economic development. Empirical evidence, however, is inconclusive regarding the direction and the existence of the relationship between democracy and development. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether (1) democracy or (2) political stability matters for economic development. Findings reveal that, unlike the prevalent political prescription, democracy has a statistically insignificant impact on economic development, whereas political stability seems to have a positive and statistical one. Interesting policy implications are discussed.

Keywords: cross-country regressions; economic development; democracy; political stability.

DOI: 10.1504/GBER.2006.010141

Global Business and Economics Review, 2006 Vol.8 No.3/4, pp.328 - 337

Published online: 22 Jun 2006 *

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