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	Podcast:		EconTalk Archives, 2011
	Episode:		Easterly on Benevolent Autocrats and Growth
	Category:		Education
	Duration:		01:05:19
	Publish Date:		2011-05-30 06:30:00
	Description:		William Easterly of New York University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the oft-heard claim that poor countries led by autocrats grow faster than poor countries that are democratic. Drawing on a recent paper, "Benevolent Autocrats," Easterly argues that while some autocracies do indeed grow very quickly, a much greater number do not. Yet, the idea that the messiness of democracy is inferior to a dictatorship remains seductive. Easterly gives a number of arguments for the perennial appeal of autocracy as a growth strategy. The conversation closes with a discussion of the limitations of our knowledge about growth and where that leaves policymakers.
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