Question

What would be your verdict on democracy if you had to base it purely on economic performance of democratic regimes in terms of growth and equal distribution?

Rates of economic growth for different countries, 1950 - 2000
Type of regimes and countries	Growth Rate
All democratic regimes	3.95
All dictatorial regimes	4.42
Poor countries under dictatorship	4.34
Poor countries under democracy	4.28

Inequality of income in selected countries

Name of the Countries	% share of national income
	Top 20%	Bottom 20%
South Africa	64.8	2.9
Brazil	63.0	2.6
Russia	53.7	4.4
USA	50.0	4.0
United Kingdom	45.0	6.0
Denmark	34.5	9.6
Hungary	34.4	10.0

Answer 1

1. In terms of economic performance, dictatorial regimes have performed significantly better during the last 50 years. The average growth rate for democratic countries was 3.95 per cent, whereas for dictatorial regimes it was 4.42 per cent.
2. To our surprise, poor countries under democracy have achieved a higher growth rate (4.28%) than other democratic regimes (3.95%). Overall, the two types of government do not differ significantly in terms of economic growth rate.
3. The same is true for the distribution of national revenue. In most countries, the wealthiest 20% of the population earn more than half of the national income, while the bottom 20% earns less than 10%. This shows a very unequal allocation of national revenue.
4. However, democracy has numerous advantages over dictatorships and other forms of government, thus I will go with democracy.