The Performance of Democracies Political Institutions and Public Policy [Hardcover]

Is the performance of western democracies in decline? Which countries show the best performance? What type of democracy works best? This book offers a comprehensive analysis of twenty-one OECD countries, systematically examining all major domestic policy areas--domestic security policy, economic policy, social policy, and environmental policy. The findings confront widely held assumptions about the performance of democracies and the role of democratic institutions.


1. Introduction
2. A Model for Evaluating the Effectiveness of Liberal Democracies
3. A Model for Explaining the Performance of Liberal Democracies
4. Level, Development, and Structure of the Effectiveness of Western Democracies
5. The Influence of Political Institutions on the Effectiveness of Western Democracies
6. Conclusion
Appendix: Performance Indicators--Distribution of the Original Variables
References