Working Papers
Executive Constraints and Economic Growth. Working paper, 2024.
[ Abstract | Draft ]
Despite extensive research on the relationship between democracy and development, the features of democracy that are particularly important for this outcome are unclear. Here, I unpack the democracy-growth link by examining the economic effects of two forms of executive constraints: horizontal constraints, the power of the parliament to control the executive, and vertical constraints, the capacity of citizens to keep rulers accountable. Using dynamic panel models, this research shows that each constraint influences growth through a specific mechanism. Horizontal constraints are strongly associated with greater private investment, whereas vertical constraints significantly decrease child mortality over the long run. When assessing their direct effect on growth, findings show that vertical constraints are the driving force that leads to the positive effect of democracy on economic development.