Business and Economics Journal

Democratization and Growth: An Examination across the World Regions

Abstract

Andreas Assiotis

Are political reforms growth enhancing? Do the effects of democratization upon growth differ over time? Moreover, could such effects differ across the world regions? By employing panel data techniques we do not find that democratizations create high transitional costs, although no strong evidence of immediate positive effects upon growth arise either. Stronger evidence points to positive effects on long-run growth. Interestingly, we find that long run growth arises more in Sub-Saharan African than in other regions1. However, for the Sub-Saharan African region, the distinction between full and partial democratization events produces different growth outcomes over time. JEL Classification: O40, O50, O55