Economic Shocks and Democratization in Africa

Datos Bibliográficos

ID6342178
AutoresManuel Barron (0000-0002-4752-6769), Edward Miguel (0000-0001-6927-709X, National Bureau of Economic Research), Shanker Satyanath (National Bureau of Economic Research)
Año2014
Volumen2
Número1
Páginas33-47
Fecha de publicación2014-04-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaPolitical Science Research and Methods (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2049-8470 • E-ISSN: 2049-8489
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/psrm.2013.27
OpenAlexW2010245944
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas6
Referencias citadas11

The literature on the determinants of democratization has long been dominated by a view that claimed a central role for economic development (‘modernization’). Acemogluet al. (2008, 2009) have recently challenged the robustness of empirical support for the modernization hypothesis. As an alternative, they claim that democratization is likely to occur in moments of economic crisis. Brückner and Ciccone (2011) appear to offer strong support for this latter view, and claim that lagged adverse GDP shocks generated by poor rainfall generate ‘windows of opportunity’ for democratization in contemporary Sub-Saharan Africa. The current article presents evidence that Brückner and Ciccone's provocative finding does not survive several sensible robustness checks, calling into question whether their claim in fact offers new insights into the process of democratization

Democracy · Democratization · Development economics · Economic growth · Economic system · Economics · Empirical evidence · Modernization theory · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Robustness (evolution · Corruption and Economic Development · Culture, Economy, and Development Studies · Economic Growth and Development · Law