January 2013

IZA DP No. 7156: The Transmission of Democracy: From the Village to the Nation-State

published in: American Economic Review: Papers & Proceedings, 2013, 103 (3), 86-92

We provide evidence that a history of democracy at the local level is associated with contemporary democracy at the national level. Auxiliary estimates show that a tradition of local democracy is also associated with attitudes that favor democracy, with better quality institutions, and higher level of economic development.