The relationship between democracy and economic growth is among the most important but poorly understood in the field of political economy. Are democracy and economic growth compatible? Or is the sacrifice of personal freedom a necessary price people must pay to escape poverty? The central question of this project is whether democracy promotes, impedes, or is irrelevant to economic development. However, because economic development probably also influences the development of democracy, the study also considers the effects of growth on democracy. This project examines the reciprocal influences between democracy and development using advanced statistical methods and aggregate data on a cross section of the world's nation states since 1945. When completed, the study should help us understand whether there are any conditions under which authoritarian governments are superior to democracies in producing wealth for their citizens and whether there is some minimum level of economic development that is necessary for the establishment of stable democratic rule. These questions are particularly urgent today as attempts to establish or re-establish democracy are occurring in numerous countries around the world, including especially in eastern Europe.
