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Lund University

Bachelor of Science in Development Studies

Department of Political Science

STVK12 Bachelor’s Thesis

Supervisor: Teresia Rindefjäll

Spring 2012

Democracy and Human Development

A Cross-National Analysis

Olle Berggren

Abstract

This thesis analyses the effects of democracy and democratisation on human

development levels and growth. Theoretically, the idea of development as

freedom is incorporated into the classical debate of democracy’s impact on

development. Empirically, this is tested in a number of cross-sectional and pooled

panel multiple linear regression models, covering the period 1980-2010.

Democracy is measured by Freedom House’s political rights and civil liberties,

while human development is measured by the HDI. The same regressions are also

performed with GDP per capita and economic growth as the dependent variable.

In its largest sample, this study covers 146 countries. The results of this study

generally support the hypothesis that democracy and democratisation are more

important for human development than for economic development. Moreover, the

results indicate that democracy and democratisation have positive effects on

changes in human development, while they may still have negative effects on

economic growth rates. This finding strongly supports the claim that human

development is compatible with, and even strengthened by, human freedom and

political democracy. Finally, these findings also have some important policy

implications, suggesting that democratisation and democracy promotion are

important as long as human development, rather than economic growth, is the

ultimate developmental goal.

Keywords: democracy, human development, freedom, growth, democratisation

Words: 9,829

Table of Contents

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