Inequality and democracy A quantitative study of the relationship between different measurements of inequality and democracy level

Abstract

This master’s thesis investigates the relationship between inequality and democracy level. The research question investigated is, does inequality affect democracy? I conclude from previous literature that there is little consensus on if there is a relationship between inequality and democracy, the most widely known theories are therefore all tested in this thesis. I furthermore conclude that there is criticism towards the most used measurements of inequality and I therefore test an alternative operationalization of inequality. Furthermore, is the aspect of the affect of inequality over time missing in the literature and therefore tested in my thesis. I chose a quantitative research design and use a time series cross section regression model to test the affect of inequality on democracy level. My results show no support for the established theories. I however find that some of the alternative operationalization’s of inequality produces results in the predicted way of the established theories. My results also indicate that inequality has a changing effect on democracy level over time.