Their fates matter - A study on the role of democracy for growth and welfare in India and China

Abstract: In this thesis, I compare the economic development between one democracy, India, and one autocracy, China. The idea is to see whether democracy has anything to do with economic development in terms of growth and welfare. To my disappointment, I have found that democracy does not have a big impact on economic development. Instead, it seems that the economical development depends on the economical policies carried out by the respective governments. In the thesis, I am also discussing in the thesis the reasons behind China´s success when it comes to economic development, and the similar, but somewhat slower, success of India.