Hostname: page-component-89b8bd64d-9prln Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-05-11T23:26:46.394Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Democratic Quality and Human Development in Latin America: 1972–2001

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 July 2009

David Altman  and
Rossana Castiglioni
David Altman*
Affiliation:
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Rossana Castiglioni*
Affiliation:
Universidad Diego Portales
*
David Altman, Instituto de Ciencia Política, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Av. Vicuña Makenna 4860, Santiago, Chile; daltman@uc.cl.
Rossana Castiglioni, Escuela de Ciencia Política and ISCO, Universidad Diego Portales, Ejército 333, Santiago, Chile; Rossana.castiglioni@udp.cl.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Abstract. This paper analyzes the connection between democracy and human development. In so doing, it examines two main questions: Are democracies better than non-democracies in achieving human development? Among democracies, is there a direct relationship between the actualization of civil and political rights and human development? In answering these questions, we offer a cross-national study of 18 Latin American countries from 1972 to 2001. We use fixed effect models for analyzing our cross-country, pooled time-series data. The evidence suggests not only that democracies are better than nondemocracies in fostering human development (controlling for wealth), but also that differences in degree of democracy have a significant impact on human development in terms of infant mortality and life expectancy.

Résumé. Cet article analyse la relation entre la démocratie et le développement humain et aborde sous cet angle deux questions principales. Les régimes démocratiques assurent-ils mieux que les régimes non démocratiques le développement humain? Au sein des pays ayant un régime démocratique, y a-t-il une relation directe entre l'actualisation des droits civils et politiques et le développement humain? Pour répondre à ces questions, nous observons les données de 18 pays latino-américains sur une période allant de 1972 à 2001. En ce qui concerne la méthodologie, nous avons utilisé un modèle à effets fixes pour analyser nos données chronologiques consolidées regroupant plusieurs pays. Les résultats de notre analyse nous amènent à conclure que non seulement les régimes démocratiques réussissent mieux que les régimes non démocratiques à favoriser le développement humain (en mesurant le niveau de richesse), mais aussi que les différences dans les niveaux de démocratie ont également un effet notable sur le développement humain en termes de mortalité infantile et d'espérance de vie.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 42 , Issue 2 , June 2009 , pp. 297 - 319
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Acuña, Carlos H. and Smith, William C.. 1996. “La economía política del ajuste estructural: la lógica de apoyo y oposición a las reformas neoliberales.” Desarrollo Económico 36 (141): 355–89.Google Scholar
Alkire, Sabina. 2002. “Dimensions of Human Development.” World Development 30 (2): 181–205.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Altman, David and Pérez-Liñán, Aníbal. 2002. “Assessing the Quality of Democracy: Freedom, Competitiveness, and Participation in 18 Latin American Countries.” Democratization 9 (2): 85–100.Google Scholar
Avelino, George, Brown, David S. and Hunter, Wendy. 2005. “The Effects of Capital Mobility, Trade Openness, and Democracy on Social Spending in Latin America, 1980–1999.” American Journal of Political Science 49 (3): 625–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beck, Nathaniel, Katz, Jonathan and Tucker, Richard. 1998. “Taking Time Seriously: Time-Series Cross-Section Analysis with a Binary Dependent Variable.” American Journal of Political Science 42 (4): 1260–88.Google Scholar
Bendix, Reinhard. 1964. Nation Building and Citizenship. New York: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Bollen, Kenneth A. 1979. “Political Democracy and the Timing of Development.” American Sociological Review 44 (4): 572–87.Google Scholar
Bollen, Kenneth A. and Jackman, Robert W.. 1995. “Income Inequality and Democratization Revisited: Comment on Muller.” American Sociological Review 60 (6): 983–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, David and Hunter, Wendy. 1999. “Democracy and Social Spending in Latin America, 1980–1992.” American Political Science Review 93 (4): 779–90.Google Scholar
Brown, David S. and Hunter, Wendy. 2004. “Democracy and Human Capital Formation Education Spending in Latin America, 1980 to 1997.” Comparative Political Studies 37 (7): 842–64.Google Scholar
Carlin, Ryan E. 2006. “The Socioeconomic Roots of Support for Democracy and the Quality of Democracy in Latin America.” Revista de Ciencia Política 26 (1): 48–66.Google Scholar
Centro Latinoamericano de Demografía. 2002. “Estimaciones y Proyecciones de Población 1950–2050” http://www.eclac.cl/celade/proyecciones/intentoBD-2002.htm (September 29, 2006).Google Scholar
Coppedge, Michael. 2002. “Democracy and Dimensions: Comments on Munck and Verkuilen.” Comparative Political Studies 35 (1): 35–39.Google Scholar
Cutright, Phillip. 1963. “National Political Development: Measurement and Analysis.” American Sociological Review 28 (2): 253–64.Google Scholar
Dahl, Robert. 1971. Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Diamond, Larry. 1996. Is the Third Wave of Democratization Over? Stanford: Hoover Institution.Google Scholar
Diamond, Larry. 1999. Developing Democracy: Toward Consolidation. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Dreze, Jean and Sen, Amartya. 1989. Hunger and Public Action. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Epstein, David L., Bates, Robert, Goldstone, Jack, Kristensen, Ida and O'Halloran, Sharyn. 2006. “Democratic Transitions.” American Journal of Political Science 50 (3): 551–69.Google Scholar
Esping-Andersen, Gøsta. 1990. The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Esping-Andersen, Gøsta and Van Kersbergen, Kees. 1992. “Contemporary Research on Social Democracy.” Annual Review of Sociology 18 187–208.Google Scholar
Fajnzylber, Fernando. 1990. Unavoidable Restructuring In Latin America. Durham NC: Duke University Press.Google Scholar
Freedom House, FH. 2002. “Freedom in the World Country Ratings: 1972–73 to 2001–2002.” http://freedomhouse.org/research/freeworld/FHSCORES.xls.Google Scholar
Frey, Bruno S. and Stutzer, Alois. 2000. “Happiness Prospers in Democracy.” Journal of Happiness Studies 1 (1): 79–102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Graham, Carol and Pettinato, Stefano. 2001. “Happiness, Market, and Democracy: Latin America in Comparative Perspective.” Journal of Happiness Studies 2 (3): 237–68.Google Scholar
Holliday, Ian. 2000. “Productivist Welfare Capitalism: Social Policy in East Asia.” Political Studies 48 (4): 706–23.Google Scholar
Huber, Evelyne, Ragin, Charles and Stephens, John. 1993. “Social Democracy, Christian Democracy, Constitutional Structure, and the Welfare State.” American Journal of Sociology 99 (3): 711–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huntington, Samuel. 1968. Political Order in Changing Societies. New Haven CN: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Jenkins, J. Craig and Scanlan, Stephen J.. 2001. “Food Security in Less Developed Countries, 1970 to 1990.” American Sociological Review 66 (5): 718–44.Google Scholar
Karl, Terry Lynn. 2000. “Economic Inequality and Democratic Instability.” Journal of Democracy 11 (1): 149–56.Google Scholar
Kaufman, Robert R. and Segura-Ubiergo, Alex. 2001. “Globalization, Domestic Politics, and Social Spending in Latin America: A Time-Series Cross-Section Analysis, 1973–97.” World Politics 53 (4): 553–87.Google Scholar
King, Gary. “Amelia_II: A Program for Missing Data” http://gking.harvard.edu/amelia/ (August 29, 2008).Google Scholar
Korpi, Walter. 1989. “Power, Politics, and State Autonomy in the Development of Social Citizenship: Social Rights during Sickness in Eighteen OECD Countries since 1930.” American Sociological Review 54 (3): 309–28.Google Scholar
Korzeniewicz, Roberto Patricio and Smith, William C.. 2000. “Poverty, Inequality, and Growth in Latin America.” Latin American Research Review 35 (3): 7–54.Google Scholar
Lerner, Daniel. 1958. The Passing of Traditional Society. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Libertad y Desarrollo. 2007. “Erradicación de la Pobreza: ¿Crecimiento Económico o Estado de Bienestar?” Temas Públicos 842 (October).Google Scholar
Lipset, Seymour Martin. 1959. “Some Social Requisites of Democracy: Economic Development and Political Legitimacy.” American Political Science Review 53 (1): 69–105.Google Scholar
London, Bruce and Williams, Kirk. 1990. “National Politics, International Dependency, and Basic Needs Provision: A Cross-National Analysis.” Social Forces 69 (2): 565–84.Google Scholar
López Pintor, Rafael and Gratschew, Maria, ed. 2002. Voter Turnout from 1945: A Global Report. Stockolm: IDEA: Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance.Google Scholar
Luna, Juan Pablo. 2008. “Democracia, gobierno y partidos: Introducción a LAPOP Chile 2008.” Revista de Ciencia Política 28 (3): 115–41.Google Scholar
Mainwaring, Scott. 1999. “The Surprising Resilience of Elected Governments.” Journal of Democracy 10 (3): 101–14.Google Scholar
Mainwaring, Scott, Brinks, Daniel and Pérez-Liñán, Aníbal. 2001. “Classifying Political Regimes in Latin America 1945–1999.” Studies in Comparative International Development 36 (1): 37–65.Google Scholar
Marshall, Monty G. and Jaggers, Keith. 2001. “Polity IV Annual Time-Series 1800–2007.” http://www.systemicpeace.org/inscr/inscr.htm (June 20, 2007).Google Scholar
Marshall, T. H. 1992. “Citizenship and Social Class.” In Citizenship and Social Class, ed. Marshall, T. H. and Bottomore, T.. London: Pluto Press.Google Scholar
McGuire, James W. 2002. “Democracy, Social Provisioning, and Under-5 Mortality: A Cross-National Analysis.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston.Google Scholar
Mkandawire, Thandika. 2001. “Social Policy in a Development Context.” Programme Paper Number 7 Geneva (UNRISD).Google Scholar
Moon, Bruce. 1991. The Political Economy of Basic Human Needs. Ithaca NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Moon, Chung-in and Yang, Jae-jin. 2002. “Globalization, Social Inequality, and Democratic Governance in South Korea.” In Democratic Governance and Social Inequality, ed. Tulchin, J. and Brown, A.. Boulder CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers.Google Scholar
Moore, Barrington Jr. 1966. Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Lord and Peasant in the Making of the Modern World. Boston: Beacon Press.Google Scholar
Muller, Edward N. 1988. “Democracy, Economic Development, and Income Inequality.” American Sociological Review 53 (2): 50–68.Google Scholar
Muller, Edward N. 1995. “Economic Determinants of Democracy.” American Sociological Review 60 (6): 966–82.Google Scholar
Munck, Gerardo and Verkuilen, Jay. 2002. “Conceptualizing and Measuring Democracy: Evaluating Alternative Indices.” Comparative Political Studies 35 (1): 5–34.Google Scholar
O'Donnell, Guillermo. 1979. Modernization and Bureaucratic-Authoritarianism. Berkeley CA: Institute of International Studies.Google Scholar
O'Donnell, Guillermo. 2001. “Reflections on Contemporary South American Democracies.” Journal of Latin American Studies 33 (3): 599–609.Google Scholar
Otto Schell, Carl, Reilly, Marie, Rosling, Hans, Peterson, Stefan and Ekström, Anna Mia. 2007. “Socioeconomic Determinants of Infant Mortality: A Worldwide Study of 152 Low-, Middle-, and High-Income Countries.” Scandinavian Journal of Public Health 35 (3): 288–97.Google Scholar
Pan-American Health Organization. 2002. Core Health Data. http://www.paho.org/Project.asp?SEL=HD&LNG=ENG&CD=COREH (March 2, 2004).Google Scholar
Pastor, Manuel and Wise, Carol. 1999. “The Politics of Second-Generation Reform.” Journal of Democracy 10 (3): 34–48.Google Scholar
Pateman, Carole. 1970. Participation and Democratic Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Przeworski, Adam, Alvarez, Michael E., Cheibub, José Antonio, and Limongi, Fernando. 2000. Democracy and Development: Political Institutions and Well-Being in the World, 1950–1990. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Przeworski, Adam and Limongi, Fernando. 1997. “Modernization: Theories and Facts.” World Politics 49 (2): 155–83.Google Scholar
Radcliff, Benjamin. 2001. “Politics, Markets, and Life Satisfaction: The Political Economy of Human Happiness.” American Political Science Review 95 (4): 939–52.Google Scholar
Rapley, John. 1996. Understanding Development: Theory and Practice in the Third World. Boulder CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers.Google Scholar
Rimlinger, Gaston. 1971. Welfare Policy and Industrialization in Europe, America, and Russia. New York: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Rotberg, Robert I. 2004. “Strengthening Governance: Ranking Countries Would Help.” The Washington Quarterly 28 (1): 71–81.Google Scholar
Schumpeter, Joseph. 1950. Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy. New York: Harper.Google Scholar
Sen, Amartya. 1999. Development as Freedom. New York: Anchor Books.Google Scholar
Skocpol, Theda. 1979. States and Social Revolutions: A Comparative Analysis of France, Russia, and China. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stimson, James. 1985. “Regression in Space and Time: A Statistical Essay.” American Journal of Political Science 29 (4): 914–47.Google Scholar
Streeten, Paul. 2000. “Looking Ahead: Areas of Future Research in Human Development.” Journal of Human Development 1 (1): 25–48.Google Scholar
Teixeira, Ruy. 1987. Why Americans Don't Vote: Turnout Decline in the United States, 1960–1984. New York: Greenwood Press.Google Scholar
Tsai, Ming-Chang. 2006. “Does Political Democracy Enhance Human Development in Developing Countries? A Cross-National Analysis.” American Journal of Economics and Sociology 65 (2): 233–68.Google Scholar
UNDP. 1990. Human Development Report 1990: Concept and Measurement of Human Development. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Ward, Michael D. 2002. “Green Binders in Cyberspace: A Modest Proposal.” Comparative Political Studies 35 (1): 46–51.Google Scholar
Welzel, Chris, Inglehart, Ronald and Kligemann, Hans-Dieter. 2003. “The Theory of Human Development: A Cross-Cultural Analysis.” European Journal of Political Research 42 (3): 341–379.Google Scholar
Weyland, Kurt. 2002. The Politics of Market Reform in Fragile Democracies: Argentina, Brazil, Peru, and Venezuela. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Wickrama, K. and Muldorf, Charles. 1996. “Political Democracy, Economic Development, Disarticulation, and Social Well-Being in Developing Countries.” The Sociological Quarterly 37 (3): 375–90.Google Scholar
Wilensky, Harold. 1975. The Welfare State and Equality: Structural and Ideological Roots of Public Expenditures. Berkeley CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
World Bank. 2002. World Development Indicators. http://www.worldbank.org/data/wdi2002 (February 27, 2004).Google Scholar
Zweifel, Thomas and Navia, Patricio. 2000. “Democracy, Dictatorship, and Infant Mortality.” Journal of Democracy 11 (2): 99–114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar