democracy

[Dave Backus @ NYU]

Like everyone else, I've been following events in the Middle East with
great interest, but I thought some perspective would be useful.
Here's what I believe we know about economic performance and
democracy:

(1) Rich countries are all democracies.

(2) It's not only democracy that characterizes rich countries, it's
that the political process limits the power of the central
government. We can all think of democracies that in effect give power
to a single person or party. Chavez in Venezuela comes to mind.

(3) When countries become democracies varies. Some countries became
democracies early (US, UK), some late (Spain, Poland). I think the
fact is: if a rich country becomes a democracy, then it's unlikely to
revert to something else. But poor countries often revert.

(4) Democracies in poor countries are not associated with either good
or bad economic performance. India and China are good examples:
one's a democracy, one's not, and both are growing rapidly.

Where does that leave us? It's not clear how events will turn out in
(say) Egypt. Democracy has been promised, not guaranteed, and it's
unclear that democracy will stick (3) or lead to good economic
outcomes (4). But I wish them the best of luck.

Borowitz
* http://www.borowitzreport.com/2011/02/15/ahmadinejad-promises-democratic-reforms-in-egypt/
* http://www.borowitzreport.com/2011/02/22/state-department-offers-support-to-whoever-winds-up-winning/