Abstract

MONCAYO JIMENEZ, Édgard. RELATIONS BETWEEN DEMOCRACY AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE ANDEAN COUNTRIES. A POLITICAL ECONOMY APPROACH. Rev.econ.inst. [online]. 2006, vol.8, n.14, pp.167-190. ISSN 0124-5996.

Democratic governance during the last two decades in the Andean countries contrasts sharply with low levels of economic growth and the increase in unemployment and poverty. This essay argues that the Gordian knot of this paradox is the high level of inequality in income distribution. This inequality is the cause and consequence of the malfunctioning of the economic and the political system, since economic elites control political power and create institutions and policies that reflect the interests of the wealthy rather than the common interest. This creates a vicious circle in which “controlled” democracy reproduces and expands the inequalities that bore it.

Keywords : democracy; development; income distribution; political economy.

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