Democracia y Desarrollo

Bruce Bueno de Mesquita y George W. Downs explican por qué el crecimiento económico y la democracia no siempre van de la mano:

What explains the often lengthy lag between the onset of economic growth and the emergence of liberal democracy? The answer lies in the growing sophistication of authoritarian governments. Although development theorists correctly assume that increases in per capita income lead to increases in popular demand for political power, they consistently underestimate the ability of oppressive governments to thwart those demands. Authoritarian regimes are getting better and better at avoiding the political fallout of economic growth—so good, in fact, that such growth now tends to increase rather than decrease their chances of survival.