LESSONS FROM THE HISTORY OF DEMOCRATIC ECONOMIC INSTITUTIONS: THE CASE OF THE SOUTHERN U.S.

Looking at data for over a hundred years on democratic economic institutions in the U.S., there seems to be a clear pattern of initiatives growing strongly, peaking and then falling off. The broad range of data used in this paper allows an investigation of these long-range patterns. These institutions show a life-cycle pattern and appear to be filling in more niches in the economy. The connections between different democratic economic institutions across sectors have historically been weak, but there is evidence of umbrella organizations playing a more active role as a supporting structure to encourage growth.