Lehoucq, Fabrice2017-08-282017-08-282008https://hdl.handle.net/10986/28007This paper uses a case study of Costa Rica to identify the reasons why democracy is conducive for development. By the mid-twentieth century, Costa Rica had begun to depart from the all-too-common mixture of political instability and economic stagnation characteristic of much of the developing world. This paper claims that this country has benefited from better-than-average public policies, a conclusion based upon an original assessment of policy effectiveness and a major comparative ranking of state policies. It largely rejects the interpretation that uncommon development performance stems from institutions created during the colonial period and instead emphasizes how unending political stalemates gradually made the struggle for power more democratic. A central conclusion of this paper is that political competition-as well as steady economic growth rates and development, more generally-interact with and reinforce each other so that the exercise of power foments rather than retards economic growth.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOACCOUNTABILITYADJUDICATIONADULT POPULATIONAGRICULTUREALLEGIANCEARMED CONFLICTAUDITORAUDITSBALANCE SHEETBANKSBONDSCABINETCANDIDATESCAPITAL INFLOWSCENTRAL BANKCENTRALIZATIONCHRONIC INFLATIONCITIZENCITIZENSCIVIL CONFLICTCIVIL WARCLIMATE CHANGECOLLAPSECOLONIALISMCOMMERCIAL BANKSCOMMITTEE HEARINGSCOMMON MARKETCOMPETITIVENESSCONFLICTS OF INTERESTCONSTITUENTCONSUMERSDEBTDEBT CRISISDEMOCRACIESDEMOCRACYDEMOCRATIC FORMSDEMOCRATIC REGIMESDEVELOPMENT POLICYDEVELOPMENT STRATEGYECONOMETRIC MODELSECONOMIC CRISISECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC PERFORMANCEECONOMIC POLICIESECONOMIC REFORMECONOMIC RESOURCESEDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENTELECTIONELECTIONSELECTORAL SYSTEMELECTORATEENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITSEXCHANGE RATEEXECUTIVE BRANCHEXPORT SECTOREXPORTSFINANCIAL REFORMSFISCAL DEFICITFISCAL DEFICITSFISCAL POLICIESFLOOR PRICEFORECASTSFOREIGN EXCHANGEFRANCHISEFRAUDFREE ELECTIONSGANGGDPGDP PER CAPITAGLOBAL STANDARDSGLOBALIZATIONGOVERNMENT EXPENDITURESGREENHOUSE GASESGROWTH RATEGROWTH RATESHEALTH CAREHEALTH CARE SERVICESHOSPITALHUMAN CAPITALHUMAN DEVELOPMENTINCOMEINCOMESINDEPENDENT JUDICIARYINDIGENOUS POPULATIONSINDIVIDUAL RIGHTSINDUSTRIALIZATIONINFANTINFANT MORTALITYINFANT MORTALITY RATESINFLATION RATESINITIATIVEINSTITUTIONAL MECHANISMSINSTITUTIONAL STABILITYINSURANCEINSURANCE POLICIESINTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTINTERNATIONAL TRADEINVESTMENT IN EDUCATIONJUDICIAL REFORMJUSTICELAWSLEADERSHIPLEGAL STATUSLEGISLATIVE POWERSLEGISLATIVE PROCESSLEGISLATORSLIBERALIZATIONLIFE EXPECTANCYLIVE BIRTHSLOBBYINGLOCAL GOVERNMENTSMACROECONOMIC CONDITIONSMACROECONOMIC POLICYMACROECONOMIC STABILITYMANDATESMEDIAMEDIA ATTENTIONMEDICAL CAREMIDDLE INCOME COUNTRYMINISTERMINISTERSMINORITYMIXED ECONOMIESMONETARY POLICYMONEY SUPPLYMONOPOLYMORTALITY DECLINENATIONAL AUTHORITIESNATIONAL BANKNATIONAL BUDGETNATIONAL CURRENCYNATIONAL POLICYNATIONAL POLITICSNATURAL RESOURCESOLD AGEOLIGARCHYOPEN ECONOMYPENSION SYSTEMPENSIONSPER CAPITA INCOMESPOLICEPOLICESPOLICY FRAMEWORKPOLICY GOALSPOLICY IMPLICATIONSPOLICY MAKERSPOLICY MAKINGPOLICY STUDIESPOLICY-MAKING PROCESSPOLITICAL CAMPAIGNSPOLITICAL CHANGEPOLITICAL DEMOCRACYPOLITICAL DEVELOPMENTPOLITICAL ECONOMYPOLITICAL INSTABILITYPOLITICAL PARTIESPOLITICAL PARTYPOLITICAL STABILITYPOLITICAL SYSTEMPOLITICAL SYSTEMSPOLITICIANSPRACTITIONERSPRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONSPRIVATE CAPITALPRIVATIZATIONPROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATIONPUBLIC AFFAIRSPUBLIC AUTHORITIESPUBLIC DEBTPUBLIC FINANCEPUBLIC HEALTHPUBLIC INTERESTPUBLIC OFFICIALSPUBLIC OPINIONPUBLIC PENSIONPUBLIC POLICIESPUBLIC POLICYPUBLIC SERVICESREGIME CHANGESREPRESENTATIVESREPUTATIONRULE OF LAWRURAL AREASSANITATIONSCANDALSSMALL ECONOMIESSMALL ECONOMYSOCIAL CONDITIONSSOCIAL COSTSSOCIAL DEVELOPMENTSOCIAL DEVELOPMENTSSOCIAL MOVEMENTSSOCIAL POLICYSOCIAL PROBLEMSSOCIAL PROGRESSSOCIAL SECURITYSOCIAL WELFARESTATE POLICIESSTATE UNIVERSITYSTOCK EXCHANGESUFFRAGETAXTAX CREDITSTECHNICAL CAPACITIESTELECOMMUNICATIONSTELEPHONE SERVICETRADE BARRIERSTRADE LIBERALIZATIONTRANSPARENCYTRANSPORTATIONTREASURYTURNOVERVICTIMSVIOLENCEVOTER TURNOUTVOTERSWARWEALTHWORLD POPULATIONWorking PaperWorld Bank10.1596/28007