Rule of Law, Democracy, Openness and Income: Estimating the Interrelationships

31 Pages Posted: 3 Dec 2004

See all articles by Dani Rodrik

Dani Rodrik

Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Roberto Rigobon

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Sloan School of Management

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: October 2004

Abstract

We estimate the interrelationships among economic institutions, political institutions, openness, and income levels, using identification through heteroskedasticity (IH). We split our cross-national dataset into two sub-samples: (i) colonies versus non-colonies; and (ii) continents aligned on an East-West versus those aligned on a North-South axis. We exploit the difference in the structural variances in these two sub-samples to gain identification. We find that democracy and the rule of law are both good for economic performance, but the latter has a much stronger impact on incomes. Openness (trade/GDP) has a negative impact on income levels and democracy, but a positive effect on rule of law. Higher income produces greater openness and better institutions, but these effects are not very strong. Rule of law and democracy tend to be mutually reinforcing.

Keywords: Growth

JEL Classification: O10

Suggested Citation

Rodrik, Dani and Rigobon, Roberto, Rule of Law, Democracy, Openness and Income: Estimating the Interrelationships (October 2004). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=629061

Dani Rodrik (Contact Author)

Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) ( email )

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Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Roberto Rigobon

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Sloan School of Management ( email )

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United States
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617-258-6855 (Fax)

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