Labor Relations and Nonelite Mobilization

The ability of a group to disrupt the status quo, measured by their resources and organizational capacity.

Individuals or groups who hold significant power and influence in society, often due to wealth, education, or political connections.

Individuals or groups who lack significant power and influence in society, often due to lower socioeconomic status or limited access to resources.

The extent to which the state prioritizes the interests of Elites over the interests of Non-Elites in its policy decisions.

The difference in disruptive capacity between Elites and Non-Elites. A larger gap means Elites have more power to influence the state.

The state is most responsive to the group with the greatest disruptive capacity. When the gap between Elites and Non-Elites narrows, Non-Elites gain more influence.

A form of government where citizens have the right to vote and elect their leaders through fair and competitive elections.

The theory that political outcomes are determined by the relative power and resources of different groups in society.

A group's ability to disrupt the status quo depends on its resources and organizational capacity.

A measure of a country's democratic quality, using a 21-point scale.

The capacity to challenge established power structures and bring about change.

Economic development can increase disruptive capacity by creating a middle class and resources.

While economic development can influence disruptive capacity, it doesn't always guarantee it. The relationship is complex and can vary across countries and over time.

A measure of disruptive capacity based on the proportion of workers in industries known for high levels of organization and mobilization, such as manufacturing and transportation.

The level of union membership in a country, representing the proportion of the working-age population who are part of a labor union.

The frequency of strikes in a country, measured by the number of strikes per 100,000 working-age people in a given period.

The amount of time lost due to strikes in a country, measured by the total number of days lost per 1,000 working-age people.

Measures that directly assess the organization and mobilization of workers, such as actual union membership data or indices that evaluate worker rights.

Measures that focus on the mobilization and organization of non-elite groups, like social movements or protests, to understand their influence on political processes.

A measure designed to capture the underlying capacity of non-elite groups to organize and act collectively, taking into account factors beyond just unionization.

The ability of non-elite groups to disrupt the status quo and challenge power structures. It's measured by their resources and organizational capacity, like union membership and worker mobilization.

The idea that democracy may be the consequence of increased non-elite disruptive capacity, where groups have greater influence and can push for democratic reforms.

This acknowledges that while favorable institutional changes can promote development and democracy, non-elite capacities are still crucial for driving democratization in practice.

The possibility that an overlooked factor, outside of disruptive capacity, might explain the coincidence of democratic transitions and increased non-elite power.

The impact of non-elites on democratization is complex and can't be fully explained by disruptive capacity alone. Other factors, like institutional changes and the role of elites also play a significant role.

Focus on improving measurements and understanding of disruptive capacity, including the factors that influence it and its relationship with state policy and democratization.

A measure of overall progress in electoral democracy, capturing the extent to which a country has free and fair elections.

A measure of a country's non-elite capacity, calculated by dividing the total number of workers in specific sectors (manufacturing, mining, construction, and transport) by the size of the working-age population.

Data from multiple sources are used to track non-elite capacity, with the Groningen Growth and Development Center data considered the most reliable, followed by the International Labour Organization, and then Mitchell's International Historical Statistics.

When data sources provide combined categories that include both high-capacity and low-capacity sectors, the proportion of the high-capacity sector is estimated based on the nearest available data where these sectors are reported separately.

The working-age population is defined as those between the ages of 15 and 65, and data is collected from various censuses.

Missing values in data sets are linearly interpolated, which means filling in the gaps based on the existing values.

The analysis examines the relationship between democracy and the level of non-elite capacity, exploring how the capacity of non-elites to organize and act collectively influences the development of electoral democracy.

This is not a flashcard, but additional information: The analysis uses the V-Dem data set, a valuable resource for studying democracy, which provides indicators on a wide range of democratic attributes.

To address the issue of reverse causality, it is essential to use longer interval samples. This helps mitigate the possibility that the impact of disruptive capacity on democracy is being influenced by the democracy score itself.

When a country's democracy score is correlated with its past values, even lagging disruptive capacity by one period doesn't eliminate the bias due to the influence of democracy on itself.

Autocorrelation refers to the correlation of a variable with its past values. It can be a concern in time series analysis, but it weakens with longer intervals between observations, suggesting that the effect of past values on present values diminishes.

The argument suggests that capitalist development promotes democracy by weakening the power of landlords and empowering non-elites. The evidence supports this hypothesis, showing that landowning power hinders democratization, while non-elite disruptive power promotes it.

A lagged dependant variable is a variable from a previous time period used as a predictor in a regression model. It can lead to bias in parameter estimates, especially when present in short panels. This is known as Nickell's bias.

To address Nickell's bias, researchers can use longer panels, which provide more data points and reduce the bias. It can also be mitigated by limiting the analysis to countries with at least 20 years of data.

Stationary variables are those that do not have unit roots, meaning they do not exhibit trends or seasonality. This is a key assumption for using time series analysis. To test for stationarity, unit root tests are used, and the results indicate whether the variables are suitable for the analysis.

To ensure the validity of the analysis, all variables must be stationary. This means they shouldn't have unit roots, which indicate non-stationarity. To demonstrate stationarity, the study performs unit root tests on all variables.