Polyarchy, Liberal Principles, and Economic Development:: A Quantitative Analysis of Regime Types

This thesis looks at how regimes, conceptualized through competitiveness of access to power (polyarchy) and liberal principles, affects economic development. In that regard, political regimes are conceptualized as: liberal democracies, electoral democracies, electoral autocracies, and closed autocracies. Next, economic development is conceptualized material well-being of society, measured in two ways. Firstly, through GDP per capita growth percentage between 2018-2019 to demonstrate short-term change, and secondly through GDP per capita from 2019. Utilizing the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) dataset, this thesis employs a linear regression model to look at the effects, holding politico-geographic region, political stability, population, control of corruption, and property rights constant. The models demonstrate that overall, regimes with more polyarchy and other liberal principles do not contribute to more economic development, with some nuances that are highlighted by six...Show moreThis thesis looks at how regimes, conceptualized through competitiveness of access to power (polyarchy) and liberal principles, affects economic development. In that regard, political regimes are conceptualized as: liberal democracies, electoral democracies, electoral autocracies, and closed autocracies. Next, economic development is conceptualized material well-being of society, measured in two ways. Firstly, through GDP per capita growth percentage between 2018-2019 to demonstrate short-term change, and secondly through GDP per capita from 2019. Utilizing the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) dataset, this thesis employs a linear regression model to look at the effects, holding politico-geographic region, political stability, population, control of corruption, and property rights constant. The models demonstrate that overall, regimes with more polyarchy and other liberal principles do not contribute to more economic development, with some nuances that are highlighted by six hypotheses comparing each regime type to one another. Overall, this research provides valuable insights for both policymakers and scholars interested in how various regimes affect economic development.Show less

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Polyarchy, Liberal Principles, and Economic Development: A Quantitative Analysis of Regime Types