The Impact of Political Structure and Governmental Organization on Economic Development

Liberal democratic countries in the West employ a variety of mechanisms to encourage authoritarian regimes to embrace liberal democratic governance, arguing that political freedoms best ensure domestic tranquility and prosperity. In recent time especially, however, some new democracies have struggled economically whereas some authoritarian regimes have seen sustained and impressive rates of economic growth and higher development. This paper rejects the notion that economic performance is a function of regime type, with democracies outperforming autocracies. It argues instead that a country’s economic development is result of a specific set of political elements and government activities – not regime type per se