The Power of Connections The Influence of Electoral Systems on Economic Growth in Japan and South Korea

Do formal political institutions, namely electoral systems, affect economic growth? Using data on South Korea and Japan, I investigate whether their electoral system reforms produced a significant change in the rate of economic growth. I find that both countries grew faster under SNTV than under other systems. SNTV allows for the formation of close ties between politicians and society. This, in turn, makes it easier for politicians to sell specific policy agendas to the citizens. I conclude that formal political institutions, especially the electoral system, affect economic growth and that SNTV was one of the key catalysts of both Japan's and South Korea's economic booms.