It's the economy, stupid!

Levestandard og en sterk middelklasse er viktig drivkrefter for demokratisering, konkluderer Robert J. Barro*:

The propensity for democracy rises with per capita GDP, primary schooling, and a smaller gap between male and female primary attainment. For a given standard of living, democaracy tends to fall with urbnization and with a greater reliance on natrual resources. Democracy has little relation to country size but rises with the middle‐class share of income. The apparently strong relation of democracy to colonial heritage mostly disappears when the economic variables are held constant. Similarly, the allowance for these economic variables weakens the interplay between democracy and religious affiliation. However, negative effects from Muslim and non‐religious affiliations remain intact.

*Robert J. Barro (1999). Determinants of Democracy. Journal of Political Economy. 107, S6 (December 1999).