We provide evidence that a tradition of village democracy is associated with the presence of national democracy today. We also show that a tradition of local democracy is associated with attitudes that are more supportive of democracy, with better quality institutions, and with higher levels of economic development. Our findings indicate persistence in democratic institutions over time, and suggest the importance of traditional local institutions for wellfunctioning national-level institutions.

A new paper by Paola Giuliano and Nathan Nunn.

Here is a mapping of their pre-industrial political succession data.