Competitive Elections in Developing Countries

Competitive Elections in Developing Countries
Author: Myron Weiner
Publisher: Duke University Press
Total Pages: 452
Release: 1987
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780822307662

Download Competitive Elections in Developing Countries Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

This is the latest in the At the Polls series, in which Duke University Press has joined with the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research to publish studies on the electoral process as it functions around the world. Cited by Choice for its "high standard of scholarly analysis and objectivity," the series provides both a chronicle of events and a thorough analysis of the election results.

Taxation, Responsiveness and Accountability in Sub-Saharan Africa

Taxation, Responsiveness and Accountability in Sub-Saharan Africa
Author: Wilson Prichard
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 309
Release: 2015-09-11
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1316453731

Download Taxation, Responsiveness and Accountability in Sub-Saharan Africa Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

It is increasingly argued that bargaining between citizens and governments over tax collection can provide a foundation for the development of responsive and accountable governance in developing countries. However, while intuitively attractive, surprisingly little research has captured the reality and complexity of this relationship in practice. This book provides the most complete treatment of the connections between taxation and accountability in developing countries, providing both new evidence and an invaluable starting point for future research. Drawing on cross-country econometric evidence and detailed case studies from Ghana, Kenya and Ethiopia, Wilson Prichard shows that reliance on taxation has, in fact, increased responsiveness and accountability by expanding the political power wielded by taxpayers. Critically, however, processes of tax bargaining have been highly varied, frequently long term and contextually contingent. Capturing this diversity provides novel insight into politics in developing countries and how tax reform can be designed to encourage broader governance gains.

Power and the Vote

Power and the Vote
Author: Brian Min
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 267
Release: 2015-09-16
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1316445305

Download Power and the Vote Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

How do developing states decide who gets access to public goods like electricity, water, and education? Power and the Vote breaks new ground by showing that the provision of seemingly universal public goods is intricately shaped by electoral priorities. In doing so, this book introduces new methods using high-resolution satellite imagery to study the distribution of electricity across and within the developing world. Combining cross-national evidence with detailed sub-national analysis and village-level data from India, Power and the Vote affirms the power of electoral incentives in shaping the distribution of public goods and challenges the view that democracy is a luxury of the rich with little relevance to the world's poor.

Electoral Competitiveness, Political Budget Cycles and Taxation in Developing Countries

Electoral Competitiveness, Political Budget Cycles and Taxation in Developing Countries
Author: Wilson Prichard
Publisher:
Total Pages: 44
Release: 2015
Genre:
ISBN:

Download Electoral Competitiveness, Political Budget Cycles and Taxation in Developing Countries Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

Despite significant evidence of 'political budget cycles' affecting public expenditure, studies of the impact of elections on tax collection have reached mixed conclusions. Drawing on significantly improved government revenue data, this paper finds, contrary to earlier research, that when we focus on all executive elections in developing countries there is no significant effect on levels of tax collection. Instead, the impact of elections on tax collection is conditional on elections being competitive, with competitive elections resulting in a negative impact on pre-election tax collection, split relatively evenly between direct and indirect taxes. The magnitude of the effect is large, reaching as much as 0.5 per cent of GDP in some specifications, and has important implications for understanding the incentive effects of elections and the connections between elections and effective governance.

Electoral Protest and Democracy in the Developing World

Electoral Protest and Democracy in the Developing World
Author: Emily Beaulieu
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 245
Release: 2014-03-10
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1107039681

Download Electoral Protest and Democracy in the Developing World Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

This book is investigates elections and protest in developing countries, and what those protests mean for democracy. Unlike much work on elections and democracy, this book focuses on circumstances related to economic development, rather than political regime type. It also looks at incremental changes toward democracy and focuses on reforms, instead of major regime transitions like revolutions.

The Politics Industry

The Politics Industry
Author: Katherine M. Gehl
Publisher: Harvard Business Press
Total Pages: 316
Release: 2020-06-23
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1633699242

Download The Politics Industry Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

Leading political innovation activist Katherine Gehl and world-renowned business strategist Michael Porter bring fresh perspective, deep scholarship, and a real and actionable solution, Final Five Voting, to the grand challenge of our broken political and democratic system. Final Five Voting has already been adopted in Alaska and is being advanced in states across the country. The truth is, the American political system is working exactly how it is designed to work, and it isn't designed or optimized today to work for us—for ordinary citizens. Most people believe that our political system is a public institution with high-minded principles and impartial rules derived from the Constitution. In reality, it has become a private industry dominated by a textbook duopoly—the Democrats and the Republicans—and plagued and perverted by unhealthy competition between the players. Tragically, it has therefore become incapable of delivering solutions to America's key economic and social challenges. In fact, there's virtually no connection between our political leaders solving problems and getting reelected. In The Politics Industry, business leader and path-breaking political innovator Katherine Gehl and world-renowned business strategist Michael Porter take a radical new approach. They ingeniously apply the tools of business analysis—and Porter's distinctive Five Forces framework—to show how the political system functions just as every other competitive industry does, and how the duopoly has led to the devastating outcomes we see today. Using this competition lens, Gehl and Porter identify the most powerful lever for change—a strategy comprised of a clear set of choices in two key areas: how our elections work and how we make our laws. Their bracing assessment and practical recommendations cut through the endless debate about various proposed fixes, such as term limits and campaign finance reform. The result: true political innovation. The Politics Industry is an original and completely nonpartisan guide that will open your eyes to the true dynamics and profound challenges of the American political system and provide real solutions for reshaping the system for the benefit of all. THE INSTITUTE FOR POLITICAL INNOVATION The authors will donate all royalties from the sale of this book to the Institute for Political Innovation.

Democracy and Political Change in the Third World

Democracy and Political Change in the Third World
Author: Jeff Haynes
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 332
Release: 2003-09-02
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 113454183X

Download Democracy and Political Change in the Third World Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

This book examines the experience of democracy in developing countries such as Mexico, Zambia, India and Indonesia. It considers the patchy democratic record of such countries, as well as investigating the relationship between external and domestic factors to democratisation. The contributors assess the importance to democratic progress of a number of key variables, including: *the institutionalisation of political parties and electoral systems * the role of civil society *the influence of external actors, such as the European Union

Elections

Elections
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 72
Release: 1997
Genre: Political Science
ISBN:

Download Elections Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

Democracy, Electoral Systems, and Judicial Empowerment in Developing Countries

Democracy, Electoral Systems, and Judicial Empowerment in Developing Countries
Author: Bumba Mukherjee
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Total Pages: 373
Release: 2014-03-20
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0472029622

Download Democracy, Electoral Systems, and Judicial Empowerment in Developing Countries Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

The power granted to the courts, both in a nation’s constitution and in practice, reveals much about the willingness of the legislative and executive branches to accept restraints on their own powers. For this reason, an independent judiciary is considered an indication of a nation’s level of democracy. Vineeta Yadav and Bumba Mukherjee use a data set covering 159 developing countries, along with comparative case studies of Brazil and Indonesia, to identify the political conditions under which de jure independence is established. They find that the willingness of political elites to grant the courts authority to review the actions of the other branches of government depends on the capacity of the legislature and expectations regarding the judiciary’s assertiveness. Moving next to de facto independence, Yadav and Mukherjee bring together data from 103 democracies in the developing world, complemented by case studies of Brazil, India, and Indonesia. Honing in on the effects of electoral institutions, the authors find that, when faced with short time horizons, governments that operate in personal vote electoral systems are likely to increase de facto judicial independence whereas governments in party-centered systems are likely to reduce it.

Multiparty Elections in Authoritarian Regimes

Multiparty Elections in Authoritarian Regimes
Author: Susanne Michalik
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 157
Release: 2015-04-14
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 3658095113

Download Multiparty Elections in Authoritarian Regimes Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

Susanne Michalik analyzes why authoritarian regimes allow for multiparty elections and how they affect political outcomes. Even though their introduction rarely leads to a change in power, such elections should not be regarded as mere window-dressing. She argues that competitive elections are installed to deal with a split among the incumbent elite and to facilitate the formation of a new ruling coalition. In a cross-national study the author finds that elections matter and the ruling party does more than just manipulate election results in order to be reelected. Incumbents provide a mix of public goods and targeted public goods depending on the level of electoral competition they are experiencing. The outcome of authoritarian multiparty elections in the form of the legislature’s party composition also has an effect on the regime’s international relations in the form of foreign aid allocation.