Democracy and Economic Opportunities: Does Democracy Increase Social Mobility?

• In Event: Democracy, Representation and Exclusion

Abstract

Does democracy create economic opportunities for the poor? While the previous literature has shown that democracy has, at best, an ambiguous effect on economic inequality, the effect of democracy on social mobility has yet to be assessed empirically. In this paper, I argue that democracy increases social mobility. Democracy is associated with policies, such as public education and free market policies, that increase social mobility without necessarily reducing inequality. Using a dataset on mobility covering over 100 countries worldwide, I show that democracy is indeed associated with an increase in social mobility. These findings have important implications regarding the economic and social effects of democracy.

Author

• Christian Houle, Michigan State University