Understanding Democracy Economic and Political Perspectives

This is a collection of essays by well-known economists and political scientists from both North America and Europe on the nature of democracy.

Democracy has moved to the centre of systemic reflections on political economy, gaining a position which used to be occupied by the debate about socialism and capitalism. Certitudes about democracy have been replaced by an awareness of the elusiveness and fluidity of democratic institutions and of the multiplicity of dimensions involved. This is a book which reflects this intellectual situation. It consists of a collection of essays by well-known economists and political scientists from both North America and Europe on the nature of democracy, on the conditions for democracy to be stable, and on the relationship between democracy and important economic issues such as the functioning of the market economy, economic growth, income distribution and social policies.

Introduction Albert Breton, Ginaluigi Galeotti, Pierre Salmon and Ronald Wintrobe; Part I. Democracy, the Market, and the Law: 1. Democratic stability as a self-enforcing equilibrium Barry R. Weingast; 2. Democracy, competition, and the principle of Isonomia: an economic analysis of the political exchange as an incomplete contract Michel Grillo; 3. Constitutional democracy: an interpretation Dennis Mueller; 4. Necessary and sufficient conditions for a viable democracy Peter Bernholz; Part II. Democracy and Economic Growth: 5. Government spending and economic growth under democracy and dictatorship Jose Antonio Cheibub and Adam Pzeworski; 6. Rent seeking and redistribution under democracy vs dictatorship Ronald Wintrobe; 7. Democractic governments, economic growth and income distribution Pierre Salmon; Part III. Democratic Deficiencies and Possible Improvements: 8. Democracy and the public machinery: the case of the headless leviathan Gianluigi Galeotti; 9. Democracy and empowerment Albert Breton and Margot Breton; 10. Political participation, voting and economic policy: three problems of modern democracies Luigi Campiglio; Part IV. Democratic Expectations: 11. Components of the democratic ideal Ian Shapiro; 12. Democracy on the margin Russell Hardin.

In this collection, attention is given to basic issues about democracy that tend to be taken for granted and not seriously addressed. What should be expected or not expected from democracy? What are the conditions for democracy to be stable? What is the relationship between democracy and economic growth, income distribution, social policies, and the efficiency of public administration?