Economic Development and Autocratization

TY - CHAP

T1 - Economic Development and Autocratization

AU - Knutsen, Carl Henrik

AU - Skaaning, Svend-Erik

PY - 2024/1/1

Y1 - 2024/1/1

N2 - We first survey theoretical arguments and recent quantitative studies on the relationship between economic development and autocratization and thereafter present a novel analysis, which offers hitherto unmatched empirical coverage. Our investigation examines whether the level of economic or short-term economic growth is related to regimes experiencing autocratization, either as measured by downturns on a continuous democracy measure or as status change on a categorical measure from polyarchy, electoral democracy, or multi-party autocracy, respectively, to lower-level categories. Our results indicate (with some deviations) that economic development bolsters political regimes against autocratization. Moreover, poor, short-term economic performance is significantly related to autocratization with one exception; high-quality democracies (polyarchies) tend to be very stable regardless of their economic performance.

AB - We first survey theoretical arguments and recent quantitative studies on the relationship between economic development and autocratization and thereafter present a novel analysis, which offers hitherto unmatched empirical coverage. Our investigation examines whether the level of economic or short-term economic growth is related to regimes experiencing autocratization, either as measured by downturns on a continuous democracy measure or as status change on a categorical measure from polyarchy, electoral democracy, or multi-party autocracy, respectively, to lower-level categories. Our results indicate (with some deviations) that economic development bolsters political regimes against autocratization. Moreover, poor, short-term economic performance is significantly related to autocratization with one exception; high-quality democracies (polyarchies) tend to be very stable regardless of their economic performance.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85195358609&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.4324/9781003306900-8

DO - 10.4324/9781003306900-8

M3 - Book chapter

SN - 9781032308333

SP - 79

EP - 93

BT - The Routledge Handbook of Autocratization

A2 - Croissant, Aurel

A2 - Tomini, Luca

PB - Routledge

CY - Abingdon

ER -