Is Democracy Associated with Reduction of Poverty, Child Mortality and Child Deprivation in Low-income Countries?

Is democracy related to lower poverty rates and better living conditions for children in developing countries? Multiple sources have confirmed that living conditions in low- and middle-income countries have improved significantly during the past decade. This development coincides with a period of economic growth and, until recently, a trend towards increasing democratization of many of the world’s political systems. In the present paper, we use data from 51 low- and lower-middle-income countries covering the period 1995–2019 to analyse: poverty ($1.90/day), child mortality as well as the degree to which children are malnourished, deprived of immunization, and lack education. The central aim is to test whether democracy contributes to the decrease in poverty and improvement of children’s living conditions. We also test whether the impact of democratization is conditional on political ideology, GDP, and corruption, i.e., whether democratization only is beneficial if combined with policies influenced by socialistic ideology, economic growth, or low corruption. Using data on living conditions from the World Bank, Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), V-Dem project on democratization, and Global Leader Ideology database, we draw the following conclusions: Democratization does contribute to the decrease in poverty, child mortality, malnutrition and lack of immunization among children. However, the impact of democracy is conditioned on previous experience of leftist governments; democracy only improves living conditions in countries with a history of leftist governments. Least beneficial are leftist autocracies. We also conclude that democracy counterbalances the detrimental effects of corruption on children’s school attendance.