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Remittances and Democratization

Year: 2015

Type: article

Abstract: Do remittances stabilize autocracies? Remittances—money sent by foreign workers to individuals in their home country—differ from other sources of external non-tax revenue, such as foreign aid, because they accrue directly to individuals and thus raise the incomes of households. We argue that remittances increase the likelihood of democratic transition by undermining electoral support for autocratic incumbents in party-based regimes. Remittances therefore make voters less dependent on state transfers. As a result, autocracies that rely heavily on the broad-based distribution of spoils for their survival, namely party-based regimes, should prove especially vulnerable to increases in remittances. Evidence consistent with this argument suggests that remittances promote democratization in some dictatorships.

Source: International Studies Quarterly

DOI: 10.1111/isqu.12180

Authors: Abel Escribà-Folch, Covadonga Meseguer, Joseph Wright

Institutions: Universitat Pompeu Fabra, London School of Economics and Political Science, Pennsylvania State University

Language: English

Topic: Political Conflict and Governance

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: bronze

Funder: National Science Foundation