Autocracies and economic development : theory and evidence from 20th century Mexico

Abstract

?Autokratien und wirtschaftliche Entwicklung: Mexiko im 20. Jahrhundert?. On average, higher levels of democracy positively effect economic performance. Still, many autocratic regimes experienced remarkable economic growth. Thus, one should differentiate between autocracies to identify the sources of varying economic success under autocratic rule. Mexico's history during the last century provides fruitful empirical evidence on how different kinds of autocracies impact on economic development. Dividing political order in twentieth century Mexico into several pe riods of autocratic rule shows that economically successful autocratic regimes were partly able to mimic core institu tional features of democracies. The variance of autocratic order in Mexico suggests that autocratic regimes character ized by relatively broad societal coalitions and the existence of institutional arrangements that regulate political succes sion outperform other arrangements of autocratic rule.