The challenges of consolidation

The economic crisis in the Soviet Union and some developing countries, worsened by timid liberalization measures, has highlighted the political problems involved in initiating and sustaining reforms. Broad-basing the right to make decisions helps in implementing changes, especially where the beneficiaries have remained traditionally on opposing sides. The more the democratic process becomes operational in the conception and implementation of economic policies, the more stable these will be. Conversely, economic decline may discredit democratic institutions.