Democracy, Complexity, and Science: Exploring Structural Sources of National Scientific Performance

TL;DR

This study investigates how democratic governance and system complexity influence national scientific performance across 124 countries, revealing that democracy and complexity factors significantly interact to shape scientific progress.

Contribution

It provides empirical evidence linking democracy and complexity measures to scientific performance, highlighting their moderating effects.

Findings

Democracy positively correlates with scientific performance.

Complexity measures moderate the democracy-science relationship.

Globalization and collaboration also impact scientific output.

Abstract

Scholars have long hypothesized that democratic forms of government are more compatible with scientific advancement. However, empirical analysis testing the democracy-science compatibility hypothesis remains underdeveloped. This article explores the effect of democratic governance on scientific performance using panel data on 124 countries between 2007 and 2017. We find evidence supporting the democracy-science hypothesis. Further, using both internal and external measures of complexity, we estimate the effects of complexity as a moderating factor between the democracy-science connection. The results show differential main effects of economic complexity, globalization, and international collaboration on scientific performance, as well as significant interaction effects that moderate the effect of democracy on scientific performance. The findings show the significance of democratic governance and complex systems in national scientific performance.