THE POLITICAL-ECONOMY OF DEVELOPMENT - AN EMPIRICAL-ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTS OF THE INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK ON ECONOMIC-DEVELOPMENT

Researchers suggest that societies characterized by high levels of political freedom are expected to exhibit significantly higher rates of economic growth than those in which civil liberties and political rights are abridged. In the present study, four sets of national-level data and panel regression analysis are used to examine the relationship between the institutional framework and various measures of economic development. While the results from the full sample support the hypothesis that political freedom enhances economic development, the results obtained from the disaggregated models cast doubts on this conclusion. An important lesson to be learned from the present study is that there is yet no single empirical model of economic development that can be applied to all societies.