Governance, Growth, and Development Decision-making - School of ...

growth and stable liberal democracy 11 is presumably mediated by
this channel: growth entails the emergence of new social actors who
then demand representation in a more open political system. If the
political system succeeds in incorporating these actors, this is positive
for both political stability and long-term growth, as in the case
of contemporary Korea.
The distribution of growth can also have a critical impact on social
stability. Many observers have pointed to the importance of land
reform in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan prior to their high-growth
periods, and subsequent investments in human capital, which
further helped to ensure that growth would be evenly distributed.
Latin America, by contrast, has been characterized over the past
two centuries by high degrees of social inequality, by which elites
have protected their own property rights and underinvested in human
capital. Despite the existence of formal democratic institutions,
inequality has been transmitted over the generations. As recent research
has shown, partial property rights regimes can be successful
at underpinning growth for sometimes prolonged periods, but they
can then be interrupted by zero-sum conflicts over redistribution
that account for the region’s long-term lagging performance.
4. Development Strategies
The fact that there are at least five separate economic, political, and
social dimensions of development suggests that any one of them
could be an entry point for a development strategy. One important
school would prioritize some combination of economic development,
state-building, and rule of law over democracy or social
mobilization. Huntington (1968) and Zakaria (2003), 12 noting that
11
Lipset, Seymour Martin, (1959). “Some Social Requisites of Democracy:
Economic Development and Political Legitimacy,” American Political Science
Review 53: 69–105
12
Huntington, Samuel P., (1968). Political Order in Changing Societies (New
Haven: Yale University Press)
Zakaria, Fareed, (2003). The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at
Home and Abroad (New York: W. W. Norton)
Francis Fukuyama 31