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ลดช่องว่างความเหลื่อมล้ำ สร้างคุณภาพประชาธิปไตย

poor (Boix 2003; Acemoglu and Robinson 2006). Second, the elite-competition
theory, by contrast, assumes that in unequal societies the wealthy are more

supportive of democracy, especially institutions of horizontal accountability while
being more opposed to dictatorship than the poor (Ansell and Samuels 2014).

Finally, the self-enforcing theory of democracy assumes that in unequal and less
affluent societies, the wealthy are less supportive of democracy, especially
institutions of majority rule while being less opposed to dictatorship than the

poor (Przeworski 2006, 2008).

By using cross-national public opinion data from East Asia, we examine

whether the wealthy differ from the poor in support for democracy or opposition
to dictatorship and whether any differences between them vary across levels of

income inequality. The sample cases are divided into two groups: one consisting
of countries with low income inequality (Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan) and
the other consisting of those with high income inequality (Indonesia, Mongolia,

the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand), and then OLS regressions are
performed separately. Four targets of regime support are used as dependent

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variables. They are democracy in general, inclusive citizenship, checks and
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balances and dictatorship. Standard socio-demographic characteristics, such as
gender, age, and education are introduced as controls.
5 To measure support for democracy in general, two questions are used. One asked
respondents to choose from the following three statement” (1) “Democracy is always preferable
to any other kind of government”; (2) “Under some circumstances, an authoritarian government
can be preferable to a democratic one”; and (3) “For people like me, it does not matter
whether we have a democratic or nondemocratic regime.” The other asked respondents whether
they agreed or disagreed with the statement” “Democracy may have its problems, but it is still
the best form of government.”

6 To measure support for inclusive citizenship, two agree-disagree statements are used:
“Women should not be involved in politics as much as men” and “people with little education or
no education should have as much say in politics as highly educated people.”
7 To measure support for checks and balances, two agree-disagree statements are used:
“When judges decide important cases, they should accept the view of the executive branch”
and “If the government is constantly checked by the legislature, it cannot possibly accomplish เอกสารประกอบการอภิปรายร่วมระหว่างผู้แทนจากต่างประเทศ
great things.”

8 To measure support for dictatorship, two agree-disagree statements are used: “We should
get rid of parliament and elections and have a strong leader decide things” and “The army
(military) should come in to govern the country.”