Failing Democracies: What can be done to fix them and deliver economic growth?

Economic development, an essential part of global stability, has stagnated according to economist Dambisa Moyo. Liberal democracies, she asserts, are failing to produce the growth needed to improve lives in the United States and globally. This is troubling from an economic standpoint and a political one as Moyo believes that personal rights and freedoms can only exist if a society is able to hold its government accountable. Economic advancements and the creation of a middle class allows communities to sustain themselves and to ensure accountability, but in the absence of growth, society weakens.
Yet, for the last thirty years, the middle class in the United States has been shrinking. What is more, liberal democracies are especially volatile right now, pointing to the fact that substantial reform is needed in order to deliver the growth desired by populations and hold governments accountable. Further, these types of governments have relied on 'short-termism,' meaning that politicians are constantly pandering to voters in order to secure regular elections, in recent decades. Poor and inconsistent policy decisions made by officials only looking for immediate wins have thus become the largest obstacle to growing the global economy. What can be done to fix this?
Join us for a conversation with Dambisa Moyo, international economist, on her new book “Edge of Chaos: Why Democracy Is Failing to Deliver Economic Growth – and How to Fix It." Moyo will discuss economic challenges faced by those living in liberal democracies, why political systems are failing to address problems, and what reforms are needed to repair broken democracies and spur growth in order to reduce income inequality and improve lives.
SPEAKER:
Dambisa MoyoInternational Economist