Autor: Loriente Martin
Institución: UdeSA
Año: 2025
JEL: O4, P1
Resumen:
Drawing on survey data from over 110 countries and leveraging variation across cohorts and survey waves, we demonstrate that exposure to democracy is positively associated with individual well-being. Building on Acemoglu et al. (2019), who establish the causal effect of democracy on economic growth, we redirect attention from national economic outcomes to the individual level, analyzing how democratic institutions shape personal welfare. Our results show that democracy increases income, improves health outcomes, strengthens perceptions of freedom, and enhances both life satisfaction and subjective happiness. These effects prove robust across alternative model specifications, clustering techniques, estimation strategies, and subsamples. Temporal dynamics are consistent with our interpretation, as impressionable years take a crucial role. Overall, the study underscores the enduring and wide-ranging human benefits of democracy.