Under many nondemocratic systems, good policy is bad politics, and bad policy helps leaders stay in office. The result is poorer performance in terms of economic growth.
About the Authors
Bruce Bueno de Mesquita
Bruce Bueno de Mesquita is senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.
The recent global progress of democracy has been accompanied by increasing economic inequality. What are the implications for the quality of democracy and for its ability to endure?
A country's political regime, regardless of its level of development, affects its social performance. Fewer children die in democracies than in dictatorships.