The economics of regime change
Illustration: Alvaro Bernis
Jan 15th 2026|5 min read
REGIME CHANGE is often viewed as an economic turning point. Impoverished by years of fiscal indiscipline, price controls and state decay, nearly seven in ten Venezuelans believe their livelihoods will improve over the next year now that America has deposed their feckless dictator, Nicolás Maduro. Many Iranians bravely protesting against their theocratic rulers over sinking living standards must harbour similar hopes. Yet even though political moments can arrive abruptly, as Mr Maduro and the ayatollahs have learned, economic outcomes take longer to adjust.
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