Cold War and Institutional Quality: Some Empirical Evidence

The configuration of the cold war determines institutional quality. Countries pertaining to the block of the West display a negative link with bureaucratic development, lack of corruption, credibility of governments and others. Results are maintained even after controlling for regional and colonial variables and, in general, appear robust. In addition, the memberships of blocks according to the configuration of the cold war can thus be used like relevant instruments for the institutional variables.