Cultural and Institutional Determinants of Economic Growth: A Cross-Section Analysis

Economic growth rates for the period 1968-1987 are analyzed for ninety countries. Culture, political and economic arrangements, and personal freedoms are statistically significant determinants of growth. Personal freedom is shown to be a normal good whose demand might be affected by cultural influences. Democracies raise personal freedoms, ceterisparibus, and, consequently, grow more quickly than non-democratic regimes. Evidence is found for the convergence hypothesis; other things equal, lower income countries grow more rapidly than higher income countries.