The origins of liberal democracy and the economic legacy of the Mongol empire

I explore the fact that the Mongol Empire invaded most of Eurasia but left Western Europe untouched. I hypothesize that differences in exposure to the Mongols resulted in divergent institutional paths. Where the Mongols invaded, they set up highly centralized autocratic institutions. Meanwhile, Western Europe developed comparatively more liberal and decentralized institutions. I suggest that these differences in institutions have persisted until the present day. Using the legacy of Mongol invasions as a factor in the rise of existing institutions as an instrument for current institutions, I find significant effects on current GDP/capita caused by these divergent institutional paths.