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DID ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND ECONOMIC GROWTH CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEMOCRATIZATION IN LATIN AMERICA IN THE 1980s? Modernization theory revisited

Mohrland, Vivien LU (2017) EKHS21 20171
Department of Economic History
Abstract
Democratic transitions have been associated with a high level of economic development and good economic performance according to modernization theory. However, until now no consensus has been reached about the specific form of the relationship. Thus, this study attempts to examine whether these suggested linkages hold evidence for the case example of Latin America by testing a linear as well as a curvilinear relationship running from the level of economic development to gradual improvements of the level of democracy. Likewise, the prevalence of a relationship between economic growth and democratization has been explored. Using an own composed data set that includes 20 Latin American countries over the period 1975 to 2008, a logistic... (More)
Democratic transitions have been associated with a high level of economic development and good economic performance according to modernization theory. However, until now no consensus has been reached about the specific form of the relationship. Thus, this study attempts to examine whether these suggested linkages hold evidence for the case example of Latin America by testing a linear as well as a curvilinear relationship running from the level of economic development to gradual improvements of the level of democracy. Likewise, the prevalence of a relationship between economic growth and democratization has been explored. Using an own composed data set that includes 20 Latin American countries over the period 1975 to 2008, a logistic regression is used to test the hypotheses on democratization derived from modernization theory. Results cannot confirm the predicted relationship between the level of economic development and economic performance on democratizations in Latin America. Especially, economic growth appears as an important factor in this analysis that is decreasing the likelihood of gradual improvements of the level of democracy in the region. (Less)
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author
Mohrland, Vivien LU
supervisor
organization
course
EKHS21 20171
year
type
H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
subject
keywords
Latin America, Democratization, Modernization Theory, Economic Development, Economic Growth, Third Wave of Democracy
language
English
id
8918028
date added to LUP
2017-06-29 13:47:54
date last changed
2017-06-29 13:47:54
@misc{8918028,
  abstract     = {{Democratic transitions have been associated with a high level of economic development and good economic performance according to modernization theory. However, until now no consensus has been reached about the specific form of the relationship. Thus, this study attempts to examine whether these suggested linkages hold evidence for the case example of Latin America by testing a linear as well as a curvilinear relationship running from the level of economic development to gradual improvements of the level of democracy. Likewise, the prevalence of a relationship between economic growth and democratization has been explored. Using an own composed data set that includes 20 Latin American countries over the period 1975 to 2008, a logistic regression is used to test the hypotheses on democratization derived from modernization theory. Results cannot confirm the predicted relationship between the level of economic development and economic performance on democratizations in Latin America. Especially, economic growth appears as an important factor in this analysis that is decreasing the likelihood of gradual improvements of the level of democracy in the region.}},
  author       = {{Mohrland, Vivien}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{DID ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND ECONOMIC GROWTH CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEMOCRATIZATION IN LATIN AMERICA IN THE 1980s? Modernization theory revisited}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}