Pro Liberalism or Illiberal? The Nature of Civic Mobilization and Economic Growth

Abstract

Abstract The nature of mobilization during democratic transitions leaves a lasting impact on subsequent economic growth by shaping the institutional and behavioral foundation of young democracies. Pro-liberal mobilization significantly boosts post-transition economic growth compared to autocratic countries, while in contrast, illiberal mobilization, driven by autocratic and non-inclusive tendencies, does not. This distinction is more influential than the violence level in democratization. These results are based on data from 1960 to 2020 using various methods including dynamic growth regressions with fixed effects, event studies, a semi parametric model, a matching-augmented DID strategy, and instrumental variable analyses.