Some graphs and charts on corruption, economic growth, and the tenure of democratic and dictatorial leaders

I've gotten together a number of the charts and graphs I wanted to show you in class on Thursday but was not able to (due to computer malfunction). They are worth exploring in some detail (all interactive); if you are so inclined, you can even download the data and create your own visualizations or explore other relationships.

Here's a basic bar graph and table of years in power vs. regime type (improved from the version I showed in class). Does the theory of Bueno de Mesquita and his collaborators explain the patterns we see there? Is this what we would expect from their theory? Any obvious anomalies? Are there any alternative theories?

Here are some charts comparing corruption in democracies and dictatorships. Again, does the Bueno de Mesquita et al. model explain these patters? Are there any obvious problem cases for the theory? What about alternative theories?

Here are some charts showing the distribution of average yearly per capita economic growth rates per leader, broken down by regime type. What is the pattern we see, and is this pattern expected from the theory? Any obvious problem cases? What about alternative theories that might explain these patterns?

Here's a table showing all leaders between 1950 and 2002 who were in power for 5 years or more, broken down by their economic performance. Can you find the longest lasting leader with the worst economic performance? From the information in the table, do you think having a terrible economic performance hurts democratically elected leaders more than it hurts dictators? Is this expected from the Bueno de Mesquita et al. theory? Are there any problem cases? What about alternative theories?