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Voice and Growth: Was Churchill Right?

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Lindert, Peter (U of California, Davis)

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Abstract

The debate over whether political democracy is the least bad regime, as Churchill once said, remains unresolved because history has been ignored or misread, and because recent statistical studies have not chosen the right tests. Using too little historical information, and mistaking formal democratic rules for true voice, has understated the gains from spreading political voice more equally. This paper draws on a deeper history, reinterpreting five key experiences to show how the institutional channels linking voice and growth are themselves evolving with the economy. Up to about the early nineteenth century, the key institutional link was property rights and contract enforcement. Since the early nineteenth century, the human-Investment channel has assumed an ever-greater role. This trend will probably continue. A telltale sign of damage to growth from elite rule is the under-investment of public funds in egalitarian human capital, especially primary schooling, relative to historical norms for successful economies.

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Paper provided by University of California at Davis, Department of Economics in its series Working Papers with number 02-6.

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Date of creation: Oct 2002
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Handle: RePEc:ecl:ucdeco:02-6

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  1. Bird, Richard M. & Martinez-Vazquez, Jorge & Torgler, Benno, 2008. "Tax Effort in Developing Countries and High Income Countries: The Impact of Corruption, Voice and Accountability," Economic Analysis and Policy (EAP), Queensland University of Technology (QUT), School of Economics and Finance, vol. 38(1), pages 55-71, March. [Downloadable!]
  2. Richard Bird & Jorge Martinez-Vazquezb & Benno Torgler, 2007. "Tax Effort: The Impact of corruption, Voice and Accountability," International Tax Program Papers 0702 Classification - JEL, International Tax Program, Institute for International Business, Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. [Downloadable!]
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  3. Eloranta, Jari, 2004. "WARFARE AND WELFARE? Understanding 19th and 20th Century Central Government Spending," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 699, University of Warwick, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  4. Becker, Sascha O. & Wößmann, Ludger, 2007. "Was Weber Wrong? A Human Capital Theory of Protestant Economic History," Discussion Papers in Economics 1366, University of Munich, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
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  5. James A. Robinson, 2006. "Equity, Institutions and the Development Process," Nordic Journal of Political Economy, Nordic Journal of Political Economy, vol. 32, pages 17-50. [Downloadable!]
  6. Richard M. Bird & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez & Benno Torgler, 2004. "Societal Institutions and Tax Effort in Developing Countries," International Tax Program Papers 0411, International Tax Program, Institute for International Business, Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  7. Bird, Richard M., 2008. "Tax challenges facing developing countries," Working Papers 08/als1, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  8. Marcus Noland, 2003. "Religion, Culture, and Economic Performance," Peterson Institute Working Paper Series WP03-8, Peterson Institute for International Economics. [Downloadable!]
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