In this paper, Jan Teorell together with co-authors Agnes Cornell and Karl Henrik Knutsen, revisit the hypothesis that a Weberian bureaucracy enhances economic growth. Theoretically, there are good reasons to expect such a bureaucracy may enhance growth, although the paper also discusses plausible counterarguments.
Empirically, using new measures capturing various Weberian features in countries across the world, with some time series extending back to 1789, the paper shows that previous cross-country regressions have vastly overstated the strength of the relationship. While this casts uncertainty on the proposition that there is an effect of Weberian bureaucracy on growth, further analysis suggests that—if an effect exists—it may operate in the short term and be stronger in recent decades.
Learn more on doi.org