The impact of democratic transitions on innovation. An empirical panel analysis of 168 countries from 1960-2019.
(2022) EKHS34 20221Department of Economic History
- Abstract
- This thesis empirically examines the impact of democratic transitions on innovation using a difference-in-differences method on a panel of 168 countries from 1960 to 2019. Patents, R&D expenditure, and scientific articles are employed as proxies for innovation. The results indicate that democratisations have a positive effect on patents. This association is significant for permanent democratisations and robust to various robustness checks. There is however no association reliably measurable for R&D expenditures and scientific articles on a global level. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the effect of transitions is more pronounced when a democratisation is sustained or permanent and that the impact on innovation varies among world... (More)
- This thesis empirically examines the impact of democratic transitions on innovation using a difference-in-differences method on a panel of 168 countries from 1960 to 2019. Patents, R&D expenditure, and scientific articles are employed as proxies for innovation. The results indicate that democratisations have a positive effect on patents. This association is significant for permanent democratisations and robust to various robustness checks. There is however no association reliably measurable for R&D expenditures and scientific articles on a global level. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the effect of transitions is more pronounced when a democratisation is sustained or permanent and that the impact on innovation varies among world regions. Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean broadly resemble the global pattern, whereas democratisations in MENA and East- and South-East Asia exhibit a different one. Lastly, it is found that the higher the achieved level of democracy after democratisation, the greater the countries’ patent counts and R&D expenditures. Supportive international efforts should be increased to ensure that democratic transitions are sustained and that a higher level of democracy is reached. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9101237
- author
- Flatz, Hannes LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- EKHS34 20221
- year
- 2022
- type
- L1 - 1st term paper (old degree order)
- subject
- keywords
- innovation, democratic transitions, political regimes, institutions, development
- language
- English
- id
- 9101237
- date added to LUP
- 2022-11-09 08:54:47
- date last changed
- 2022-11-09 08:54:47
@misc{9101237, abstract = {{This thesis empirically examines the impact of democratic transitions on innovation using a difference-in-differences method on a panel of 168 countries from 1960 to 2019. Patents, R&D expenditure, and scientific articles are employed as proxies for innovation. The results indicate that democratisations have a positive effect on patents. This association is significant for permanent democratisations and robust to various robustness checks. There is however no association reliably measurable for R&D expenditures and scientific articles on a global level. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the effect of transitions is more pronounced when a democratisation is sustained or permanent and that the impact on innovation varies among world regions. Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean broadly resemble the global pattern, whereas democratisations in MENA and East- and South-East Asia exhibit a different one. Lastly, it is found that the higher the achieved level of democracy after democratisation, the greater the countries’ patent counts and R&D expenditures. Supportive international efforts should be increased to ensure that democratic transitions are sustained and that a higher level of democracy is reached.}}, author = {{Flatz, Hannes}}, language = {{eng}}, note = {{Student Paper}}, title = {{The impact of democratic transitions on innovation. An empirical panel analysis of 168 countries from 1960-2019.}}, year = {{2022}}, }