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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.
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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.

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

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