British colonialism and democracy: Divergent inheritances and diminishing legacies |
| |
| Institution: | 1. Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA;2. NBER, Cambridge, MA, USA;1. University of Notre Dame, USA;2. Australian National University, Australia;3. Northwestern University, Fudan University, Fanhai International School of Finance, NBER, BREAD, CEPR, USA;4. Yale University, USA;1. UPF-BarcelonaGSE-IPEG, 08005 Barcelona Spain;2. UPF-ICREA-BarcelonaGSE-IPEG, 08005 Barcelona Spain;1. Heidelberg University, Alfred-Weber-Institute for Economics, Bergheimer Straße 58, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany;2. University of Munich, Center for Economic Studies, Schackstraße 4/I, 80539 Munich, Germany;3. ifo Institute, ifo Center for Public Finance and Political Economy, Poschingerstraße 5, 81679 Munich, Germany;1. University of Bayreuth, Germany and CREMA – Center for Research in Economics, Management, and the Arts, Switzerland;2. Indiana University, USA;3. Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, Agroscope, Switzerland and CREMA – Center for Research in Economics, Management, and the Arts, Switzerland |
| |
| Abstract: | Did British colonial rule promote post-independence democracy? We provide evidence that the relationship follows a strong temporal pattern. Former British colonies were considerably more democratic than other countries immediately following independence, but subsequent democratic convergence has largely eliminated these differences in the post-Cold War period. Existing theories expounding superior British culture or alternative colonial institutions cannot account for divergent inheritances and diminishing legacies. To explain the time-varying pattern, we analyze European powers’ varying policy approaches to decolonization as well as changes in the international system. Britain more consistently treated competitive democratic elections as a prerequisite for gaining independence, leading to higher initial democracy levels. However, nascent democracies that lacked deep-rooted societal transformation faced challenges to democratic consolidation because of Cold War superpower competition. Later shifts in the international system toward promoting democracy further contributed to convergence by destabilizing colonially rooted dictatorships. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
| 本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录！ |
|
