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Does Democracy Flourish in the Dark? Regional Development and Democracy Building

Author

Listed:
  • Lucie Coufalová

    (Masaryk University, Faculty of Economics and Administration, Department of Economics, Brno, Czech Republic)

  • Michaela Kecskésová

    (Masaryk University, Faculty of Economics and Administration, Department of Economics, Brno, Czech Republic)

  • Štěpán Mikula

    (Masaryk University, Faculty of Economics and Administration, Department of Economics, Brno, Czech Republic)

  • Michal Ševčík

    (Masaryk University, Faculty of Economics and Administration, Department of Economics, Brno, Czech Republic)

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of regional development on democracy building in the Czech Republic following the fall of the Iron Curtain and the autocratic communist regime in 1989. By exploiting the variation in regional development arising from the economic transition process, we identify that regional development, approximated by nighttime light intensity growth, leads to a rise in voter turnout in parliamentary elections. The heightened voter turnout is associated with increased electoral support for pro-system, pro-democratic parties, indicating that regional development facilitates democracy building. Conversely, we find no effect of regional development on the electoral support for the direct successor of the pre-1989 Communist Party. This suggests that while regional development may mitigate anti-system sentiment, it does not eliminate nostalgia for the fallen autocratic regime.

Suggested Citation

  • Lucie Coufalová & Michaela Kecskésová & Štěpán Mikula & Michal Ševčík, 2024. "Does Democracy Flourish in the Dark? Regional Development and Democracy Building," MUNI ECON Working Papers 2024-04, Masaryk University.
    • Handle: RePEc:mub:wpaper:2024-04
    DOI: 10.5817/WP_MUNI_ECON_2024-04
    Note: License: CC-BY 4.0
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Acemoglu,Daron & Robinson,James A., 2009. "Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521671422, November.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    economic voting; Czech parliamentary elections; democracy building; voter turnout; economic transition; nighttime lights; regional development; communotropic voting;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • P25 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure

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