How Does Economic Development Lead to Peace?: Economic Development and Interstate Armed Conflict, 1950-2011

Abstract

Zones of peace in the world are found to be where economically advanced democracies are grouped together. Indeed, these countries not only enjoy political freedom and economic affluence but also peaceful foreign relations. While numerous studies have advanced theoretical arguments and documented empirical evidence on the democratic peace, relatively scant attention has been paid to how economic development brings about international peace. Representative studies on the economic peace have shown serious theoretical and empirical loopholes in establishing the relationship between development and peace. This present study identifies four related but distinct explanations drawing upon the rich theoretical tradition of the economic peace encompassing both classical literature and modern scholarship. It also offers a more comprehensive test against the all dyad year data of 1950-2011. The findings show that the rate of armed conflict is lower for developed dyads than undeveloped dyads and mixed dyads. Developed countries rarely fight each other.