The effects of different governance regimes on the social and economic growth of Pakistan

Abstract Through the historical records, it is proven that the democratic system fosters public interests while the dictatorship regime mends for a single man. Both regimes have their socio-economic advantages and disadvantages in society. The social as well as economic aspects remain a matter of business for the prevailing government setup. The main objective of this research is a comparative analysis of Pakistan’s socio-economic performance in democratic as well as dictatorial regimes (1947–2012). Some economic performance measures, including life expectancy, population growth, and literacy rates, as well as GDP growth, inflation, and head count ratio (HCR), have been taken for comparative analysis to check the performance. Statistical tests assist in this comparison. Our findings show that, in general, dictatorship regimes are better democratic governments in every aspect.