Deep Determinants or Interactions: Explaining Spatial Patterns in Human Rights
Tjalling C. Koopmans Research Institute, Utrecht University School of Economics, Discussion Paper Series, 12-17
30 Pages Posted: 19 Oct 2012
Date Written: October 17, 2012
Abstract
The respect for human rights follows strong spatial patterns among countries. However, to understand and predict the spatial effects of policies and interventions, it is imperative to know whether these spatial patterns stem from countries’ interactions and spillovers, or from common deep determinants, such as history and physical geography. This paper makes an effort to disentangle the two. The lion’s share of spatial patterns is accounted for by time-invariant factors, while the evidence of contemporaneous spillovers is very marginal. This limits the scope of regional effects when individual countries change their human rights situations.
Keywords: interaction and spillovers, human rights, spatial econometrics, institutions
JEL Classification: C23, F53, K33, O19
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation