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Authoritarian Regimes and Economic Development: An Empirical Reflection

Author

Listed:
  • Karim Khan

    (Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), Islamabad)

  • Saima Batool

    (Graduate Student, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), Islamabad)

  • Anwar Shah

    (Assistant Professor, School of Economics, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad)

Abstract

Since the recent emphasis on institutions for overall economic development of the countries, the research in this strand has expanded enormously. In this study, we want to see the impact of political institutions on economic development in pure cross-country setting. We take the Human Development Index (HDI) as a measure of economic development and use two alternative measures of dictatorship. We find that dictatorship is adversely affecting economic development in our sample of 92 countries. For instance, transition from extreme dictatorship to ideal democracy would increase HDI by 17 percent. Moreover, our results are robust to alternative specifications and the problems of endogeneity and reverse causation as is shown by the results of 2 Stages Least Squares (2SLS).

Suggested Citation

  • Karim Khan & Saima Batool & Anwar Shah, 2016. "Authoritarian Regimes and Economic Development: An Empirical Reflection," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 55(4), pages 657-673.
    • Handle: RePEc:pid:journl:v:55:y:2016:i:4:p:657-673
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    File URL: http://www.pide.org.pk/pdf/PDR/2016/Volume4/657-673.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Nadeem Ul Haque & Raja Rafi Ullah, 2023. "Towards a Stable Economy and Politics (Policy)," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 62(1), pages 105-114.
    2. Nadeem Ul Haque & Raja Rafi Ullah, 2020. "Towards A Stable Economy And Politics," PIDE Knowledge Brief 2020:9, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economic Development; Human Development Index; Dictatorship;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State
    • H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods
    • H42 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Publicly Provided Private Goods

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