A: fiscal balance %GDP (neg=deficit) ~ election coef=-0.471  se=0.247  p=0.0571  N=1654  countries=130
A: govt expense %GDP ~ election            coef=+0.314  se=0.190  p=0.0989  N=1689  countries=133
A: govt debt %GDP ~ election               coef=+2.134  se=1.207  p=0.0776  N=851  countries=91
A: fiscbal ~ election [ESTABLISHED dem]    coef=-0.237  se=0.184  p=0.1987  N=597  countries=39
A: fiscbal ~ election [NEWER/other]        coef=-0.647  se=0.408  p=0.1134  N=1057  countries=91
B: investment ~ election year              coef=+0.295  se=0.219  p=0.1778  N=2734  countries=158
B: investment ~ post-election year         coef=+0.083  se=0.227  p=0.7161  N=2716  countries=158
=== STUDY C: the closing economic gap (counterweight) ===
C1 democratic (FreeScore>=70) share of WORLD GDP: 2000=86.3% -> 2010=75.4% -> 2020=63.8%; autocracies(<40) 7%->26.5%; trend 2000-2024 = -1.23 pct-points/yr (p<0.0001)
C2 growth ~ income + democracy (two-way FE): democracy FreeScore +0.017 (p=0.19, n.s.) => regime not a growth driver; gap closes via catch-up, not autocratic superiority
