Economic performance, institutional intermediation, and democratic survival

The breakdown of democracies has long been associated with poor economic pe rformance. This study attempts to determine whether different configuration s of democratic institutions can mediate the effects of poor economic perfo rmance. Using an original data set that includes all democracies from the p eriod 1919 to 1995, we use continuous-time duration analysis to test hypoth eses derived from the literature on democratization. Specifically, we test the interaction of party system and the configuration of legislative and ex ecutive power (parliamentarism and presidentialism) with economic performan ce to explain the likelihood of breakdown. Results suggest that majoritaria n variants of democracy are more resistant to economic contraction than plu ralist ones. Under conditions of economic growth, pluralist democracies out perform majoritarian ones.