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Does Political Democracy Enhance Human Development in Developing Countries?

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  • Ming‐Chang Tsai

Abstract

. Despite the considerable progress of human development (HD) in developing countries (DCs) during recent decades, vast differences still remain among such countries. The question thus arises of why these divergences persist. This cross‐national study uses a larger sample of DCs to offer necessary testing of the impact of democracy on HD. This study adopts new measures of democracy featuring majority rule and political contention to estimate their correlation with three physical well‐being indicators as well as with three school enrollment indicators. After controlling for several macro‐level political and economic characteristics (state revenue and economic growth), the regression modeling for recent data from the 1980s and 1990s showed that democracies indeed achieved higher levels on the HD indicators used here. However, democracy was not a powerful predictor of changes in HD scores during the analysis period. Neither central government health or educational spending significantly altered HD. The conclusions offer a plausible explanation of why democracy in DCs failed to sustain its momentum in improving HD.

Suggested Citation

  • Ming‐Chang Tsai, 2006. "Does Political Democracy Enhance Human Development in Developing Countries?," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 65(2), pages 233-268, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ajecsc:v:65:y:2006:i:2:p:233-268
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1536-7150.2006.00450.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Hamidou Issaka Diori & Anchana NaRanong, 2023. "Multiparty Democracy, Social Cohesion, and Human Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Conceptual Framework," Journal of Sustainable Development, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 16(4), pages 1-22, July.
    2. Hashemizadeh, Ali & Bui, Quocviet & Zaidi, Syed Anees Haider, 2022. "A blend of renewable and nonrenewable energy consumption in G-7 countries: The role of disaggregate energy in human development," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    3. Matthew Sanderson, 2010. "International Migration and Human Development in Destination Countries: A Cross-National Analysis of Less-Developed Countries, 1970–2005," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 96(1), pages 59-83, March.
    4. Ming-Chang Tsai, 2021. "Ming-Chang Tsai: A Pioneer in Comparative Quality of Life Research," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 16(5), pages 2279-2282, October.
    5. Ming-Chang Tsai, 2007. "Does globali zation affect human well-being?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 81(1), pages 103-126, March.
    6. Vollmer, Sebastian & Ziegler, Maria, 2009. "Political Institutions and Human Development Does Democracy Fulfill its 'Constructive' and 'Instrumental' Role?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4818, The World Bank.
    7. Bjørnskov, Christian, 2010. "Do elites benefit from democracy and foreign aid in developing countries?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(2), pages 115-124, July.
    8. Cooray, Arusha & Potrafke, Niklas, 2011. "Gender inequality in education: Political institutions or culture and religion?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 268-280, June.
    9. Jengher Chen, 2013. "Does Global Fertility and Cultural Transition Affect Human Development? The Neglected Role of the Demographic Transition," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 113(3), pages 941-971, September.
    10. Sinan Erdogan & Ali Acaravci, 2022. "On the Nexus Between Institutions and Economic Development: An Empirical Analysis for Sub-Saharan African Countries," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(4), pages 1857-1892, August.
    11. Moss, Laurence, 2008. "A comment on economics and sociology," economic sociology. perspectives and conversations, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, vol. 9(3), pages 25-26.
    12. Malik, Sadia Mariam & Janjua, Yasin, 2010. "Geography, Institutions and Human Development: A Cross-Country Investigation Using Bayesian Model Averaging," MPRA Paper 24612, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Md Arif Hosen & Sujan Chandra Paul & Md Harun Or Rosid, 2020. "Impact of democracy on literacy rate:A cross country study," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 9(7), pages 204-211, December.

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