POLI 227 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Jagdish Bhagwati, Authoritarianism, Autonomous Communities Of Spain

• School: McGill University
• Department: Political Science
• Course: POLI 227
• Professor: Philip Oxhorn

Document Summary

The myth of the authoritarian advantage, jos mar a maravall. The first relationship is widely assumed to apply; the second is much more controversial. The proauthoritarian theses rest on the argument that dictatorships enjoy a greater political capacity and a higher level of insulation from particularistic demands than do democratic regimes. As jagdish bhagwati has noted, this view was initially presented in the context of analyses of development that focused on the problem of how to promote high rates of investment. The evidence shows that authoritarianism has often hindered economic stabilization and liberalization, which had to await a transition to democracy. A strong case can be made that economic reforms are more likely to succeed in a democratic political context. Superior political incentives, information and legitimacy => successful economic performance . Internal variations within regime categories are more important for successful economic reform than whether the regime is democratic or authoritarian.