Is democracy pro‐poor? An empirical test of the Sen Hypothesis based on global evidence. Issue 3 (7th July 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gao, Yanyan; Zang, Leizhen
• Is Part Of: Governance. Volume 35:Issue 3(2022)
• Page Start: 847
• Page End: 868
• Publication Date: 2021-07-07
• Subjects: Administrative agencies -- Periodicals; Civil service -- Periodicals; Public administration -- Periodicals; Policy sciences -- Periodicals; 350
• DOI: 10.1111/gove.12627
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0952-1895

Abstract

Abstract: It has long been hypothesized that democracy benefits the poor, yet solid empirical evidence for this assertion is scarce. This article provides new global evidence regarding the poverty‐reduction effect of democracy, which we refer to as the Sen Hypothesis. A difference‐in‐differences estimation using cross‐national panel data of over 100 countries from 1995 to 2015 shows that democracy reduces poverty, although the size of the effect varies by the poverty line chosen. The results also show that the effects are channeled by entitling more political rights, increasing freedom of speech and the size of middle classes, and improving governmental quality, and are heterogeneous over time and democratization types.