PhD seminar | Dante Solano Silva

As part of the CDP's ongoing seminar series we are delighted to announce that Dante Solano-Silva will be presenting the results of his PhD research project. Dante's research looks at the link between economic prosperity and individual autonomy, life satisfaction, and support for democracy. The abstract for Dante's presentation is below:

South American countries experienced a period of economic prosperity between 2002-2014 due to the high prices of commodities, the main driver of these economies (Kristjanpoller et al., 2016; Ocampo, 2017). This period, also called the “commodity boom”, was marked by a high economic growth with a significant reduction of income inequalities and poverty (Ocampo, 2017; Sánchez-Ancochea, 2021). Previous research suggests that economic development promotes autonomy values as individuals are less dependent on others and reduce their survival needs (Dunn et al., 2017; Greenfield, 2016; Inglehart & Welzel, 2005; Santos et al., 2017; Welzel, 2013). Literature also suggests that when economic growth is accompanied with a reduction of inequalities, trust and subjective well-being of individuals is also promoted (Mikucka et al., 2017; Oishi & Kesebir, 2015). Autonomy, trust and life satisfaction have, in turn, been found to drive the emergence of a democratic political culture (Dunn et al., 2017; Inglehart & Welzel, 2005). Using data from the World Values Survey and the Latinobarometro (1996 – 2018), I test whether these patterns are replicated in five countries of South America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Peru. The data shows an increase in autonomy values, life satisfaction and democracy support during the “commodity boom”. However, social and political trust decline during the same period. Autonomy values and life satisfaction have a positive effect on democratic support. Furthermore, interaction effects suggest that individuals with high autonomy values and high life satisfaction tend to give more support to democracy. Implications for the academic literature, Latin America and democracy are discussed.

This is a free event hosted by the CDP. Refreshments will be provided.