1 vladimir bragin sergey shulgin institute for open economy 2 the demand democratic institutions and consumption behavior introduction most of contemporary regimes formally are democracies all them declare rule law a great many rights liberties their citizens freedom speech is one important democracy in practice only every third regime grants declared restricted could not realize exists on paper but reality real life be fulfilled if exist independent mass media amartya sen 1984 pointed role key helping india to avoid famines contrast china some african countries suffered from with millions died was able evade as government cannot afford fail take prompt actions when large scale starvation threatens newspapers play an part this making facts known forcing challenge faced larcinese 2001 concludes that do
