For a research project in a political science course, a student collected information for 50 nations. she used infant mortality rates as a measure of quality of life and the percentage of all adults who are permitted to vote as a measure of democratization. her hypothesis was that quality of life is higher in more democratic nations.

I don't think that a good measure for democratization necessarily need to be associated with how many adults are allowed to vote. A better measure for democratization should be the conditions of which these adults vote and the responsible entity for making their votes count. Let's take Cuba or Venezuela as examples, every adult is allowed to vote, but they're not democratic countries. I do believe that a higher quality of life is associated with democratic countries, but I think that the measure for democratization is wrong.

in an absolute  monarchy, the  monarchrules as an autocrat, with absolutepower  over the state and government — for example, the right to rule by decree, promulgate laws, and impose punishments. the  monarch isnominally sovereign but the electorate, through their legislature, exercise political sovereignty.