The relationships between democratic experience, adult health, and cause-specific mortality in 170 countries between 1980 and 2016: an observational analysis
People live longer in countries that became democracies from 1970 to 2015 finds this new global study published in the journal Lancet. It states that democracy reduced chances of dying from — heart diseases, cirrhosis, stroke and road accidents. Free and fair elections appear important for improving adult health… most likely by increasing government accountability and responsiveness says the study.
Previous analyses of democracy and population health have focused on broad measures, such as life expectancy at birth and child and infant mortality, and have shown some contradictory results.
In this study researchers used a panel of data spanning 170 countries to assess the association between democracy and cause-specific mortality and explore the pathways connecting democratic rule to health gains.