The reduction of political power concentration in the hands of local elites plays a significant role in driving long-term economic development, according to a study based on historical data from Brazilian municipalities.
Cities once dominated by one or more family dynasties and were poorer in the 1940s reached the 2000s with better economic and social performance than municipalities with a similar profile but where local competition was already more dispersed.
The turnaround is directly related to changes that weakened political oligopolies, altered the balance of power, and increased competition in the electoral arena.
According to the authors, these transformations improved local governance and, consequently, indicators of per capita income, infant mortality, and literacy.
The research was conducted by researchers Claudio Ferraz, a professor at the University of British Columbia and PUC-Rio, Frederico Finan, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and Monica Martinez-Bravo, a professor at the Center for Monetary and Financial Studies in Madrid (Spain).