Lukashenka Hinders Economic Growth in Belarus, Expert Says

How can the market help democracy?

Expert Marek Dombrowski, professor, a senior researcher at CASE, spoke at the "October Economic Forum" in Minsk, Zautra Tvaye Krainy informs:

- Populist political regimes, which are not amicable to the market, lead to economic disasters.

If the index of economic freedom is applied to the ratings of political freedoms, one can notice a certain correlation between the countries: a greater degree of economic freedom is associated with political freedoms and vice versa. This rule does not work only for some countries, for example, Singapore or Hong Kong.

The question is, how are these freedoms interconnected and how can the market help democracy?

For example, the demand for the rule of law comes directly from market relations. The market also promotes the development of civil society institutions, expands the middle class and builds a culture of cooperation. It promotes economic development, which in turn contributes to the need for political freedoms and democracy.

Democracy, on the other hand, builds a system of checks and balances, increases the transparency of government actions, and limits the use of public resources for the benefit of some groups of individuals. Civil liberties are the basis of economic freedoms, and democratic legitimacy helps to make unpopular but necessary decisions.

The experience of post-communist countries shows that authoritarianism is not conducive to market relations. Whereas in the 2000s the number of countries considered free or partially free increased. This situation changed in the 2010s, which is particularly noticeable in post-Soviet countries. There is a list of countries where the transition from market relations to authoritarian development is visible. These are Belarus after 1996, Russia after 2003, Turkey after 2010, Ukraine from 2010 to 2014, Hungary after 2010.

This movement had a negative impact on the course and dynamics of economic reforms. The authoritarian style of governance leads to more distortions in the economy, lower competitiveness and a higher level of corruption.