Abstract

ARMELLINI, Mauricio  and  GARCE, Adolfo. Democracy and development: a partisan approach.Translated byLucía Tiscornia,  Mateo Porciúncula. Rev.urug.cienc.polít. [online]. 2008, vol.4Selected edition, pp. 0-0. ISSN 0797-9789.

For years scholars have tried to find the magic key to Latin American development, mainly through economic theory and economic institutions. In this paper we propose a different approach: we claim that in the long run, the rotation in government of right and left-wing parties favors development.  We assume that development combines growth and increased social well-being, that right-wing parties prioritize growth while left-wing parties prioritize social well being, and that there is a trade off between growth and income distribution in the long run. This hypothesis is tested empirically using a simple of 122 countries, using the United Nations' Human Development Index (HDI) as a proxy for development.

Keywords : Democracy; Development; Party Turnover; Partisan Approach.