Economic control and the effect of elections in authoritarian regimes

Using data on government spending, regulation of business, and natural resource rents for all authoritarian regimes from 1970–2006, the chapter tests how a dictator’s degree of control over the economy affects electoral dynamics. The findings partly support the theoretical argument: where economic control is limited, elections correlate with regime stability. However, there is no evidence that high levels of economic control lead to regime stabilization through elections. Furthermore, the effect of economic control is driven by a large public sector (proxied by government spending) rather than heavy regulation of business or natural resource rents.