Working Paper: NBER ID: w11204
Authors: Daron Acemoglu; Simon Johnson; James A. Robinson; Pierre Yared
Abstract: The conventional wisdom views high levels of education as a prerequisite for democracy. This paper shows that existing evidence for this view is based on cross-sectional correlations, which disappear once we look at within-country variation. In other words, there is no evidence that countries that increase their education are more likely to become democratic.
Keywords: Education; Democracy; Political Development
JEL Codes: P16; O10
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Omitted Variables (C29) | Education (I29) |
| Omitted Variables (C29) | Democracy (D72) |
| Education (I29) | Democracy (D72) |
| Country Fixed Effects (C23) | Education (I29) |
| Country Fixed Effects (C23) | Democracy (D72) |