In this paper we revisit the relationship between democracy, redistribution and inequality. We first explain the … theoretical reasons why democracy is expected to increase redistribution and reduce inequality, and why this expectation may fail … to be realized when democracy is captured by the richer segments of the population; when it caters to the preferences of …

fixed effects and the rich dynamics of GDP, which otherwise confound the effect of democracy on economic growth. Our …We provide evidence that democracy has a significant and robust positive effect on GDP. Our empirical strategy relies … on a dichotomous measure of democracy coded from several sources to reduce measurement error and controls for country …

capita income causes the creation and the consolidation of democracy. We argue that existing studies find support for this … affect both the level of income per capita and the likelihood of democracy in a country, and failing to control for these … factors may introduce a spurious relationship between income and democracy. We show that controlling for these historical …

also tends to erect significant entry barriers, violating the property rights of future producers. Democracy, where … taxes in democracy are high and the distortions caused by entry barriers are low, an oligarchic society achieves greater … new technologies, and how the unequal distribution of income in an oligarchic society supports the oligarchic institutions …

causes democracy. Existing studies establish a strong cross-country correlation between income and democracy, but do not … country fixed effects removes the statistical association between income per capita and various measures of democracy. We also … democracy. Furthermore, we reconcile the positive cross-country correlation between income and democracy with the absence of a …

Why do inefficient %uF818 non-growth enhancing %uF818 institutions emerge and persist? This paper develops a simple … framework to provide some answers to this question. Political institutions determine the allocation of political power, and … economic institutions determine the framework for policy-making and place constraints on various policies. Groups with …

reversal is consistent with the role of institutions in economic development. The expansion of European overseas empires … starting in the 15th century led to a major change in the institutions of the societies they colonized. In fact, the European … likely to introduce institutions encouraging investment in regions that were previously poor. This institutional reversal …