The relationship between economic development and political systems is of major importance in today's rapidly changing world. This is the issue addressed in this volume by an international team of academics drawn from the social sciences. The chapters range from a theoretical exploration of the measurement of development and collective well-being under both democracy and dictatorship to case studies of the workings of different political regimes around the world. Of particular interest are models of political and economic equilibrium in procedural democracies and the detailed exploration of the working of economic systems that have operated as formal democracies for some time. Specialists in comparative analysis will find the chapters on the prospects for democracy and development in countries such as China, South Africa and eastern Europe of special interest.