Democratization and Clientelism : Why are Young Democracies Badly Governed?

This paper identifies systematic performance differences between younger and older democracies: younger democracies are more corrupt; exhibit less rule of law, lower levels of bureaucratic quality, and lower secondary school enrollments; and spend more on public investment and government workers. Only one theory explains the effects of democratic age on the wide range of policy outcomes examined here-the inability of political competitors in younger democracies to make credible promises to citizens. This explanation, first advanced in Keefer and Vlaicu (2004), offers a concrete interpretation of what political institutionalization might mean, and why it is that young democracies frequently fail to become older and well-performing democracies. A variety of tests support this explanation against alternatives. The effect of democratic age remains large even after controlling for the possibilities that voters are less well-informed in young democracies, that young democracies have systematically different political and electoral institutions, or that young democracies exhibit more polarized societies.

Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Keefer, Philip
Language:	English
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2005-05
Subjects:	AUTOCRACY, BANKS, BONDS, BUREAUCRACY, CENTRAL AMERICAN, CENTRAL GOVERNMENT, CITIZENS, CONSTITUENCIES, CONSTITUENCY, CONSTITUENTS, CORRUPTION, CORRUPTION INDICATOR, DECISION MAKERS, DECISION MAKING, DEMOCRACIES, DEMOCRACY, DEMOCRATIC REGIME, DEMOCRATIZATION, DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS, DISECONOMIES, ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE, ECONOMIC RESOURCES, EDUCATION OUTCOMES, ELECTED OFFICIALS, ELECTION, ELECTIONS, ELECTORAL COMPETITION, ELECTORATE, EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE, EMPLOYMENT, ETHNIC HETEROGENEITY, EXECUTIVE BRANCH, EXPENDITURE, EXPENDITURES, FORMAL INSTITUTIONS, FRANCHISE, GOVERNMENT CREDIBILITY, GOVERNMENT DECISION, GOVERNMENT DECISION MAKING, GOVERNMENT EFFORTS, GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURES, GDP, GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP, GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE, GOVERNMENT POLICIES, GOVERNMENT POLICY, GOVERNMENT PROTECTION, GOVERNMENT SPENDING, HUMAN RIGHTS, INCOME, PARTY RANKS, PATRONAGE, POLICY MAKING, POLICY RESEARCH, POLITICAL DECISION MAKING, POLITICAL ECONOMY, POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS, POLITICAL LEADERS, POLITICAL PARTIES, POLITICAL RISK, POLITICAL SUPPORT, POLITICIANS, POSITIVE EFFECTS, PROPERTY RIGHTS, PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT, PUBLIC GOOD, PUBLIC GOODS, PUBLIC INVESTMENT, PUBLIC INVESTMENT/GDP, PUBLIC POLICIES, PUBLIC POLICY, PUBLIC SERVICES, PUBLIC SPENDING, SUFFRAGE, UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE, VOTERS, VOTING, WAGES/GDP, WEALTH,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2005/05/5800538/democratization-clientelism-young-democracies-badly-governed https://hdl.handle.net/10986/8940
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