Question

The DD measure of democracy classifies a country as a democracy if (a) the chief executive is elected, (b) the legislature is elected, (c) more than one party competes, and (d) there has been an alternation in power. The Freedom House measure classifies a country's level of "freedom" based on many criteria, including whether the government is accountable, the level of corruption, if minorities are autonomous, if people are treated equally under the law, if they have equality of opportunity, and so on. Say you had the following hypothesis: Governments are less corrupt in democracies than in non-democracies. If you want your hypothesis to be falsifiable, which measure of democracy should you use? a. You should use DD. b. You should use Freedom House. c. You could use either measure and the hypothesis would be falsifiable. d. You should not use either measure.

Answer 1

the DD measure of democracy classifies a country as a democracy if b)You should use Freedom House.

Explanation:

When testing the hypothesis that governments are less corrupt in democracies than in non-democracies, the Freedom House measure provides a more comprehensive evaluation of various factors, including government accountability and corruption levels. The DD measure primarily focuses on procedural aspects of democracy such as elections and alternation in power but does not offer detailed insights into the quality of governance or the extent of corruption. Utilizing the Freedom House measure allows for a more nuanced analysis, as it considers a broader range of criteria beyond the procedural elements of democracy, providing a more robust foundation for testing the hypothesis on corruption levels.

By employing the Freedom House measure, researchers can assess not only the presence of democratic procedures but also the actual performance of a government in terms of accountability, corruption, and other crucial aspects of freedom and governance. This approach enhances the falsifiability of the hypothesis, as it takes into account a more extensive set of indicators related to the quality of governance in both democratic and non-democratic settings.