Analysis of the factors determining rates of economic growth has found that country-specific characteristics have important effects on growth performance. Empirical evidence to date suggests that maintenance of the rule of law promotes growth, while adopting democratic institutions does not appear to improve growth performance. We find that these conclusions are very sensitive to sample selection and to estimation technique. When an identical sample of countries is used, we find that countries with democratic institutions do enjoy superior growth performance. The relationship between growth and democratic institutions is also sensitive to the estimation technique used. Estimates using instrumental variable techniques suggest that democratic institutions do experience better growth performance. These results are especially relevant for developing nations.

This paper reports the results of a study of the impact of government expenditures on economic growth, emphasizing how government effectiveness in developing nations influences the productivity of government spending. The effects of categories of government spending on growth are also examined. No significant positive effects are found for defense, education and health variables. Consumption expenditures have negative growth effects in developed and developing nations, with a more detrimental impact in developing nations with ineffective governments. Developing nations with ineffective governments benefit from capital expenditures. To stimulate growth, developing nations should limit their governments' consumption spending and invest in infrastructure.

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