While the majority of poor countries live under a dictatorship, a large part of rich countries are governed by democracy. According to the book Democracy and Development – Political Institutions and Well-Being in The World, 1950-1990 (Cambridge University Press, United States), this phenomenon occurs because there is an association between the maintenance of democracy and the level of economic development. “We found that it is more difficult to observe democracies with poor economic performance because these regimes tend to go towards dictatorship;
According to research, the survival of a democracy is related to a level of per capita income in the country. In other words, the higher the income, the greater the stability of the regime. Above US$6,000, it was observed that the democratic regime is assured forever, come rain or shine in the economy. Between US$4,000 and US$6,000 in income, there is a probability that the political system will last approximately one hundred years. “When a country is rich and has adopted a democratic regime, a situation of balance and permanence of the structure is created. However, if a nation has a per capita income below US$1,000, the possibility of resistance from the democratic regime becomes fragile. The numbers indicate that the system should only last 8.2 years. Below the per capita income threshold of US$4,000, a democracy is at risk of remaining in force in the country. The drama occurs because economic crises in poor democracies tend to exterminate the democratic regime from the political game – and economic crises in poor and authoritarian countries lead to the preservation of dictatorship.
They also concluded that the chances of a democratic regime being preserved are even greater when the economy grows above 5% per year . But it is much smaller if it shows negative growth. A democratic country with a per capita income of less than US$1,000, but with economic growth, has more possibilities of maintaining the regime than a democracy in a country with a per capita income between US$1,000 and US$4,000, but with negative growth.