Regime types and development performance: An empirical study of the effect of military controlled regimes on economic development

The basic idea of this study is to examine the effect of the degree of military control on economic development. It adopts a broad definition of military control (that considers direct and total military rule, as well as indirect and partial levels of military control), and focuses on the influence over the long run. The study articulates eleven interrelated hypotheses in the subject, and tests them utilizing two complementary methodological strategies: A cross-national analysis that applies OLS multiple regression technique on a sample of 138 countries for the period from 1961 to 1990; and a comparative case study of the four North African countries (of Algeria, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia).; The findings clearly support the main argument of the study that military control inherent certain characteristics that impedes economic growth (i.e., GDP per capita) over the long run . The negative influence of military control on domestic investment, protection of property rights, and (to a lesser extent) domestic conflict constitute major observable mechanisms for its adverse effect on economic growth. Also, the cross-national findings suggest that military control has no significant influence on social development. However, in some individual cases, like in Algeria and Libya, military control promoted initial social development but failed in building viable political institutions.; The evidence of the study suggests that future political inquiry in the subject should do the following: Reconsider the effect of the degree of military control on economic growth, improve the military control measure, and focus on its influence on the financial and economic aspects.