Social Science (087) — AI-generated practice question

The data suggests that a country's form of government — democratic or dictatorial — does not significantly determine its economic growth rate. While dictatorships show a slightly higher average growth rate overall (4.42% vs. 3.95%), this difference nearly vanishes when only poor countries are compared (4.34% vs. 4.28%). This indicates that economic growth depends more on other factors — such as population size, global conditions, and economic priorities — than on the type of regime. Therefore, democracy cannot be called a guarantee of economic development, but it does not lag significantly behind dictatorship in this regard either.

Source: Economic outcomes of democracy, Chapter 5

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Examiners expect you to:

1. Cite the data from Table 1 to support your point — this shows you've understood the evidence.
2. Draw the conclusion: the form of government is not the deciding factor; other variables matter more.
3. End with the textbook's key line: democracy is not a guarantee of growth, but it does not lag behind dictatorship either.

Avoid writing a one-sided answer (e.g., "democracy is bad because it grows slower") — the question asks what the comparison between all countries vs. poor countries specifically suggests, which is that government type alone doesn't explain growth differences.