DEMOCRATICIZATION LEVEL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT RELATIONSHIP: AN EXAMINATION ON OECD COUNTRIES


Two different approaches to the concept of democracy, minimalist and maximalist approaches have emerged as an important distinction in determining the quality of democracies. The minimalist approach to democracy is based on the formal aspect of the concept of democracy. The maximalist approach, on the other hand, deals with democracy in a broader context, with its qualitative dimensions and with values ​​related to the essence of democracy. Although many countries are governed by democracy, there are differences in the level of democratization and the quality of their democracies. In formal terms, there are not only procedural democracies but also qualified democratic regimes that function together with the essential values ​​of democracy. The concept of the quality of democracy in the literature of democracy means that the principles such as freedom, equality and participation have been implemented, the level of representation of the public, accountability and sensitivity to the demands of the public. On the other hand, it is stated that socially and economically more developed countries have a more advantageous position in terms of democratization compared to less developed countries. Therefore, while the level of social and economic development affects the level of democratization, the level of democratization can also affect the level of social and economic development. Different views have been put forward on relationship between democratization and socio-economic development. One of these approaches is Modernization theory. Modernization theory argues that there is a mutual relationship between democratization and social and economic development. Efforts to understand relationship between democratization and development have revealed of modernization theory. It affects both social and economic conditions and is affected by these conditions implementation of democracy in a country with all its principles and institutions. This study aimed to examine relationship between democratization and social and economic development in OECD countries during the period 2002-2017. Pedroni panel cointegration test, panel ordinary least squares estimation method and panel Granger causality test econometric methods were applied in the study. The findings show that democratization level both affects social and economic development and is affected by socio-economic development in OECD countries.


Keywords


Democracy, Democratization Level, Socio-Economic Development, OECD Countries.

Author : Önder A. AFŞAR -Musa ATGÜR
Number of pages: 1201-1222
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.29228/TurkishStudies.24883
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Turkish Studies-Social Sciences
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