Working Papers
Executive Constraints and Economic Growth. Working paper, 2024.
[ Abstract | Draft ]
Despite extensive research on the relationship between democracy and development, the aspects 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 a dynamic panel modeling approach, my results show that horizontal constraints actually decrease GDP per capita after controlling for the overall effect of democracy. Even though vertical constraints do not directly affect growth, they are strongly associated with less infant mortality, lower social unrest, and higher public expenditure. This research provides evidence that for a country to develop, it is more important to subject rulers to free and fair elections rather than having a strong legislature constraining them.