A number of recent empirical studies have cast doubt on the "modernization theory" of democratization, which posits … that increases in income are conducive to increases in democracy levels. This doubt stems mainly from the fact that while a … strong positive correlation exists between income and democracy levels, the relationship disappears when one controls for …

difference in the structural variances in these two sub-samples to gain identification. We find that democracy and the rule of … a negative impact on income levels and democracy, but a positive effect on rule of law. Higher income produces greater … openness and better institutions, but these effects are not very strong. Rule of law and democracy tend to be mutually …

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 …

theory also establishes that after economic integration, the high skill countries see a disproportionate increase in …