Showing papers on "Voting behavior published in 1996"

Citizen Politics: Public Opinion and Political Parties in Advanced Industrial Democracies

Abstract: Tables and Figures Preface 1. Introduction I. POLITICS AND THE PUBLIC 2. The Nature of Mass Beliefs 3. How We Participate 4. Who Participates? II. POLITICAL ORIENTATIONS 5. Values in Change 6. Issues and Ideological Orientations III. THE ELECTORAL CONNECTION 7. Elections and Political Parties 8. The Social Bases of Party Support 9. Partisanship and Voting 10. Attitudes and Voting Choice 11. Political Representation IV. DEMOCRACY AND THE FUTURE 12. Citizens and the Democratic Process Appendix A: Statistical Primer Appendix B: Major Data Sources Appendix C: World Values Survey Codebook References Index

Institutional Perspectives on Political Institutions

Abstract: This article examines some basic assumptions about the nature of political institutions, the ways in which practices and rules that comprise institutions are established, sustained, and transformed, and the ways in which those practices and rules are converted into political behavior through the mediation of interpretation and capability. We discuss an institutional approach to political life that emphasizes the endogenous nature and social construction of political institutions, identities, accounts, and capabilities.

The Media's Role in Forming Voters' National Economic Evaluations in 1992

Abstract: Theory: In terms of economic voting, voters' perceptions of economic indicators can be more important than the statistics themselves. This distinction is particularly important in understanding George Bush's defeat in 1992. Hypothesis: Relentlessly negative reporting on economic performance during the election year negatively affected voters' perceptions of the economy. These altered perceptions influenced voting behavior. Methods: Ordinary least squares regression is used to demonstrate the media's impact on economic evaluations. Logistic regression is used to demonstrate the importance of economic evaluations in vote choice. Results: Media consumption and attention to the presidential campaign through the mass media negatively shaped voters' retrospective economic assessments. These assessments were significantly related to vote choice. This suggests an explanation for why George Bush lost reelection despite an economy that had rebounded from recession well in advance of election day.

Perspectives on public choice : a handbook

Abstract: 1. Public choice in perspective Dennis C. Mueller Part I. The Need for and Forms of Cooperation: 2. Economic theories of the state Russell Hardin 3. Neither markets nor states: linking transformation processes in collective-action arenas Elinor Ostrom and James Walker 4. The political economy of Federalism Robert P. Inman and Daniel L. Rubinfeld 5. The public choice of international organizations Bruno S. Frey 6. Constitutional public choice Dennis C. Mueller Part II. Voting Rules and Preference Aggregation: 7. Cycling and majority rule James M. Enelow 8. Majority rule Douglas W. Rae and Eric Schickler 9. Group choice and individual judgments H. Peyton Young 10. Some paradoxes of preference aggregation Prasanta K. Pattanaik 11. Voting and the revelation of preferences for public activities T. Nicolaus Tideman Part III. Electoral Politics: 12. The spatial analysis of elections and committees: four decades of research Peter C. Ordeshook 13. Multiparty electoral politics Norman Schofield 14. Interest groups: money, information and influence David Austen Smith 15. Logrolling Thomas Stratmann 16. Political business cycles Martin Paldam Part IV. Individual Behavior and Collective Action: 17. When is it rational to vote? John H. Aldrich 18. Voting behavior Morris P. Fiorina 19. Public Choice Experiments Elizabeth Hoffman Part V. Public Choice in Action: 20. Modern bureaucratic theory Ronald Wintrobe 21. The positive theory of public bureaucracy Terry Moe 22. The political economy of taxation Walter Hettich and Stanley L. Winer 23. Rent seeking Robert D. Tollison 24. Endogenous protection: a survey Stephen P. Magee 25. Why does government's share of national income grow? An assessment of the recent literature on the US experience Cheryl M. Holsey and Thomas Borchering.

Measuring left right and libertarian- authoritarian values in the British electorate

Abstract: A B S'I'RA C' I' Butler and Stokes' authoritative analysis of the British electorate concluded that in general voters' political attitudes were poorly formed and, in consequence, unstable and inconsistent. This paper re-examines this question by developing and evaluating multiple-item scales of two core dimensions of mass political beliefs: left-right and libertarian-authoritarian values. The scales are shown to have respectable levels of internal consistency, high levels of stability over a one-year period, and to be useful predictors of support for political parties. In these respects they compare favourably with other commonly used indicators of political attitudes, values and ideology (left-right self-placement, postmaterialism and attitudes to nationalization). This superiority applies across different levels of political involvement. Contrary to the conclusions of earlier research into mass political ideology in Britain, therefore, it is contended that in general the electorate has meaningful political beliefs. Moreover, as the scales developed in this research form part of the British and Northern Irish Social Attitudes Series and recent British Election Studies, they provide an important resource for further studies of political culture in the UK.

A Theory of Divided Government

Abstract: This paper extends the spatial theory of voting to an institutional structure in which policy choices depend upon not only the executive but also the composition of the legislature. Voters have incentives to be strategic since policy reflects the outcome of a simultaneous election of the legislature and the executive and since the legislature's impact on policy depends upon relative plurality. To analyze equilibrium in this game between voters, we apply "coalition proof' type refinements. The model has several testable implications which are consistent with voting behavior in the United States. For instance, the model predicts: (a) split-tickets where some voters vote for one party for president and the other for congress; (b) for some parameter values, a divided government with different parties controlling the executive and the majority of the legislature; and (c) the midterm electoral cycle with the party holding the presidency always losing votes in midterm congressional elections.

Identified and introjected forms of political internalization: Extending self-determination theory.

Abstract: Canadian voters' reasons for following political events were assessed prior to the 1992 Constitutional Referendum and the 1993 federal election. Results showed that reasons reflecting identification were endorsed more frequently than those reflecting introjection, and distinctive patterns of cognitions, emotions, and actions were associated with the 2 types of internalization. Identification was associated with actively seeking information about political events, possessing a complex set of political attitudes, and being more likely to actually vote. Introjection was associated with relying on the influence of important others, experiencing conflicted emotions about political outcomes, and vulnerability to persuasion. The study also provided evidence that identification and introjection toward politics are distinguishable from intrinsic motivation and amotivation.

A Conjunctural Model of Political Conflict The Impact of Political Opportunities on the Relationship between Economic Inequality and Violent Political Conflict

Abstract: Violent political conflict has typically been studied either from an economic discontent or a political opportunity framework. This study proposes a conjunctural model, which hypothesizes that the production of grievances due to economic inequality varies systematically and interacts with political opportunities to generate violent political conflict. Using multiple regression analysis, this cross-national research examines the interaction between economic inequality and political opportunities, and their direct effects on political violence. Findings provide support for the conjunctural model propositions that political opportunity structures moderate the relationship between economic inequality and violent political conflict. Specifically, the positive effects of income inequality and separatist potential on political violence are enhanced in weak states. The impact of class exploitation on violent political conflict is moderated by regime structure and political institutionalization. Findings suggest t...

The “Americanization” of Political Communication A Critique

Abstract: This article examines the notion of the “Americanization” of political and campaign communication. Beginning with the literature on the evolution of political communication practices in the United States and their adoption in other political systems, We explore the significance of the seeming convergence of practices and the implications for future patterns of political communication and sociopolitical development. Finally, we seek to link the notion of the Americanization of politics with a discussion of the “modernization” of societies.

Heightening comparativists concern for model choice: voting behavior in Great Britain and the Netherlands

Abstract: As the research methodology more closely approximates the causal process being analyzed, the inferences and predictions derived from that methodology will better represent actual behavior. Statistical models were specified on the basis of accepted theories of voting behavior and political cleavages in the Netherlands and Great Britain. We hypothesize that multinomial models provide a more accurate characterization of voting behavior in countries with more than two political parties competing for votes. Binomial logit, multinomial logit, and nested multinomial logit models of voting behavior are estimated on Dutch and British National Election Study data. Compared to binomial methods, we find that multinomial models of voting behavior produce results that are more congruent with accepted theories of Dutch and British politics.

Do Polls Reflect Opinions or Do Opinions Reflect Polls? The Impact of Political Polling on Voters' Expectations, Preferences, and Behavior

Abstract: Can political polls alter the choices voters make on election day? Prior research on cognitive consistency suggests they can. This article develops a set of hypotheses based on cognitive dissonance theory concerning the effects of exposure to the results of political polls on voters' expectations about the outcome of the election, attitudes toward the candidates, voting intentions, and choice. These hypotheses were tested during experiments conducted during the 1992 U.S. presidential election and the 1993 New York City mayoral election. The results demonstrate that political polls do alter voting behavior. Voters use political polls as a way to maintain or move to a state of cognitive consistency. Depending on which candidate voters expect to win as well as the candidate for whom they intend to vote, polls can have no effect, lead voters to change their expectations about who will win, or lead voters to actually change their preferences and their voting behavior. The results have important implications for public policy and for survey methodology.

Slaying the Dragon: Segal, Spaeth and the Function of Law in Supreme Court Decision Making

Abstract: In 1961 Harold Spaeth published an article in the predecessor of this journal that concluded that an examination of the votes of Supreme Court justices was, ". . . protection against the subjectivity which qualitative techniques of analysis provided. The result is the attainment of a higher degree of reliability and validity in connection with measurement-quantitative techniques than is otherwise possible" (Spaeth 1961, 180). Shortly thereafter he published articles that not only quantitatively described the justices' voting behavior but that began a quest for an explanatory model of Supreme Court decision making. In these articles he considered that the justices' votes on the merits of selected categories of cases ". . . may be motivated by considerations other than those of a legal character" (Spaeth 1963a, 290) or ". . . by a single politically defined variable . . ." (Spaeth 1963b, 100). By 1976, he and a colleague defined the motivating factor as an "attitude" or an instrumental (change-oriented) policy preference which determines a vote when the simulation provided by an encounter with an "attitude object" or a class of litigants and an "attitude situation" or factual issue raised in a case (Rohde and Spaeth 1976, 76). With the publication of The Supreme Court and the Attitudinal Model (1993), Jeffrey Segal joined Spaeth to compile an exceptionally sophisticated collection of evidence in support of the thesis that political attitudes are the single important variable in Supreme Court justices' decision making. To ascertain the effect of judicial attitudes on voting behavior, Segal and Spaeth contrasted the explanatory power of their "attitudinal model" to a "legal model" of judicial decision making. The legal model assumes that judicial votes result from the application of use of professional interpretative techniques, or modes of reasoning from legal principles as taught in law schools, to the interpretation of various sorts of legal texts. As several critics have pointed out (Canon 1993, 99; Rosenberg 1994, 7; Smith 1994, 8-9), however, they did not empirically test the legal model. Rather, they attempted to provide evidence of the influence of political attitudes on the justices' voting behavior. Even in their most detailed discussion of the legal model (Segal and Spaeth 1993, 33-64, largely repeated in Spaeth 1995, 297-305), they did not present the legal model as a set of empirically testa-

The Lavender Vote: Lesbians, Gay Men, and Bisexuals in American Electoral Politics

Abstract: In the quarter century since the Stonewall riots in New York City's Greenwich Village launched the national gay-rights movement in earnest, LGB voters have steadily expanded their political influence. The Lavender Vote is the first full- length examination of lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals as a factor in American elections. Mark Hertzog here describes the differences in demographics, attitudes, and voting behavior between self-identified bisexuals and homosexuals and the rest of the voting population. He shows that lavender self- identifiers comprise a distinctive voting bloc equal in numbers to Latino voters, more liberal across the board on domestic social issues (though not necessarily on economic or national security issues) than non-gay voters, and extremely unified in high-salience elections. Further, lavender voters, contrary to popular belief, are up for grabs between the two major parties. Offering a clear and thorough explanation of LGB voting tendencies, this volume will be must-reading for elected officials, candidates for office, and all those interested in learning about LGB voters.

A Comparative Introduction to Political Science

Abstract: 1. The World of Politics: Countries and Concepts. 2. Political Science Yesterday and Today. 3. The Modern State. 4. Modern States and Forms of Government. 5. Contemporary Forms of Government. 6. Political Culture: People and Politics. 7. Political Culture: Democratic and Authoritarian. 8. Modern Ideologies and Philosophies. 9. Modern Ideologies and Philosophies: Democratic and Authoritarian. 10. Constitutional Frameworks. 11. Constitutional Frameworks: Democratic and Authoritarian. 12. Design of Central Government Institutions: Leadership, Executives and Legislatures. 13. Design of Central Government Institutions: Democratic and Authoritarian. 14. Design of Civilian and Military Public Administration. 15. Design of Civilian and Military Public Administration: Democratic and Authoritarian. 16. Political Parties and Interest Groups. 17. Political Parties and Interest Groups: Democratic and Authoritarian. 18. Elections and Voting Behavior. 19. Elections and Voting Behavior: Democratic and Authoritarian. 20. Political Change: Development, Violence, Terrorism and Revolution. 21. Politics Among States. Appendix: States of the World. Index.

Fomc voting behavior and electoral cycles: partisan ideology and partisan loyalty

Abstract: The influence of partisan and electoral considerations on the monetary policy voting behavior of Federal Reserve Governors is investigated in the context of a model permitting the estimation of reaction functions on the basis of FOMC voting records. The results suggest that once we have controlled for the state of the economy and for the prevailing stance of monetary policy, both partisan ideologies and partisan loyalties appear to play an important role in the Governors’voting calculus.

Appointment Procedures and FOMC Voting Behavior

Abstract: An important issue for the conduct of monetary policy in the United States is whether the various appointment procedures of members of the Federal Open Market Committee help determine their voting behavior. It is usually asserted that the method by which district bank presidents are appointed leads to more independence and/or more conservative behavior. Increased independence is generally believed to reduce suboptimal short-run manipulation of monetary policy, but at the cost of reducing the central bank's accountability to the country's short-run and longrun objectives. The social desirability of any potential differences in monetary policy resulting from these appointment procedures, and the optimality of discretionary policy in general, are not addressed in this paper, however. Instead, the effect on monetary policy of the different appointment procedures currently in place within the Federal Reserve System is examined. Does the increased independence that the district bank presidents supposedly possess produce significantly different monetary policy from that of the politically appointed board governors? Many studies have examined the effects various appointment procedures may have on voting at the FOMC, and the results have been somewhat mixed; Belden [2], Chappell, Havrilesky, and McGregor [3], Havrilesky and Gildea [6], and Puckett [8] find that bank presidents tend to vote for tighter policy than Board governors, while Tootell [10] finds no differences between the two groups. Most of the literature has concluded that in some unclearly defined way, and for no clear theoretical reason, the more independent district presidents are more "conservative" than the Board governors. In this paper, "conservative" is defined over several clear dimensions in order to test whether district presidents vote more conservatively than Board governors. Some slight variation in the voting behavior of bank presidents and board governors is found, but the causes of any dissimilarities are shown to be much different from those asserted in the earlier literature.

Political Discourse, Factions, and the General Will: Correlated Voting and Condorcet’s Jury Theorem

Abstract: Can a group of people, operating under majority rule procedures, make better judgments than any one of the individuals comprising the group? Rousseau’s notion of the “general will” seemed to suggest a positive answer to this ques­tion, at the same time that it generated criticism as an overly romantic or even mystical construct. However, in an insightful paper, Grofman and Feld (1988) argue that Rousseau’s notion of the general will is supported by Condorcet’s jury theorem.

Constitutional factors in politics in post-communist Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract: Political scientists seek to explain political behavior. In so doing, they frequently rely on factors such as class, income, religion, age, sex, education, race, residence, and the like, or their aggregate in the case of comparative and international studies. What is conspicuously missing from almost all mainstream political science literature is the mention of constitutions or law as influences on individual or collective behavior. The underlying premise of this article is that political behavior may take place in a certain form simply because the law commands it, the law permits it, or the law prohibits other types of behavior . This article argues that constitutions in Central and Eastern Europe play a critical role in channeling political activity and that the outcome of many struggles over power and policy can be traced to the general and sometimes even specific influence of those constitutions.

The price of nationalism: Evidence from the Soviet Union

Abstract: This paper investigates the effect of implicit subsidies from the Russian Republic to other republics within the former Soviet Union on voting behavior in the All-Union Referendum of March 1991. These subsidies comprised the difference between interrepublic trade balances at domestic and world prices. A model of voting behavior incorporating effects of ethnic composition and subsidies on voting yields the estimating equation. Regression results suggest voters are influenced more by economics (subsidies) than by politics (ethnicity), although ethnicity was an important determinant of republican cooperation with Soviet authorities. Analysis of estimation results suggests the level of implicit subsidies required to increase support for the Soviet regime from 60% to 75% would have equaled 10% of the Russian republic's GDP.

Political process and popular protest : The mobilization against free trade in Canada

Abstract: I Introduction Recent events in Europe and North America have demonstrated the gap that has emerged between elites and masses over the wisdom and enthusiasm for increased economic and political integration. Concerns have been expressed that such closer economic ties may threaten a country's sovereignty, its national identity and welfare state orientation. Important anti-integration political movements have arisen across many advanced industrial societies, most notably against the North American Free Trade Agreements (FTA and NAFTA) and the Maastricht Treaty on European Union. The elite-mass divergence around such issues, and the opposition movements that have resulted, present examples of intriguing dilemmas facing politicians and social scientists alike. Anti-integration movements raise questions about the authority of the state, signal a weakening of traditional forms of elite-mass linkage such as political parties, and underscore the inability of leaders to garner support for their own agendas. This article highlights the protest campaign of the popular mobilization against the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in Canada. It generalizes the political process model (PPM) of social movements to this case, suggesting that this case fits tenets of the PPM - that political institutions, political opportunities, and social and political organizations shaped the emergence and mobilization of the protest campaign. It also serves as an empirical account of a popular mobilization, one which was an illuminating precursor to the broader continental mobilizations, one against NAFTA and another the Maastricht Treaty on European Union. This movement emerged from a country which has otherwise contributed little research to the current cross-national debate on social movements. This article thus invites comparisons with the broader and puzzling phenomenon of anti-integration sentiment sweeping across many advanced industrial societies. II The Political Process Model of Social Movements There is a strong relationship between the mobilization dynamics of a social movement and political conditions which can constrain or facilitate collective action. While a social movement is conceptually and organizationally distinct from other forms of political activity, the extent of its interaction with the political process should not be underestimated. On the one hand, movements can be differentiated from conventional political actors by their organizational base and by their style and choice of protest activities. To mount and sustain an organized campaign of protest, movements depend upon internal resources to supply it with a membership potential, leadership, and a communications network. On the other hand, a variety of supportive political conditions can ensure a movement's survival, bolster its campaign, and satisfy its aims. Scholars in the political process mold study the political environment and the collective action it generates. As Tilly has argued in his "polity model" formulation of this approach, it is the fight for power between polity members and challengers, and the various political realities and political alignments facing those challengers, that gives rise to collective action.(1) Social movements arise, significantly expand, and have their greatest impact during periods marked by a profound increase in the vulnerability of the political establishment to pressure from protest groups.(2) Under unstable political conditions, those groups previously excluded from routine decision-making arenas under otherwise normal political conditions, find the opportunities for collective action and protest greatly enhanced. The PPM can be outlined by reference to a cluster of two essential factors namely, the existence of a mass organizational resource base and a structure of political opportunities. On the first point, the PPM focuses on the role played by the strategies, protest tactics, and resources of non-elite groups for the sustained expansion of social movements. …

Voting behavior : a radical critique

Abstract: Is there a voting behaviour orthodoxy? aims, interpretations and parameters data collection, aggregation and analysis framing fierce debate alternatives to the orthodoxy.

Political Sociology: Structure and Process

Abstract: "Summary and Conclusion", "Endnotes", and "References" appear at the end of every chapter. Preface. I. THE FIELD OF POLITICAL SOCIOLOGY. Introduction to Political Sociology. Nature of Political Sociology. Political Sociology and Related Disciplines. The Value Relevance of Political Sociology. 1. Major Models in Political Sociology. Contrasting Views of Society and Politics: The Functionalist Perspective versus the Conflict Perspectives. The Issue of Social Inequality. Political Sociology Models. The Elite Model *The Pluralist Model * Shortcomings and Criticisms of Elite and Pluralism Models * The Marxist-Class Model * The Realist Model * The Corporate and Consociational Model. II. POWER AND THE POWER STRUCTURES. 2. The Study of Societal Power and Authority. The Study of Societal Power. The Nature and Perspectives of Power. Perspectives of Power. Perspectives of Power * Social Bases of Power and Power Structures * The Structure of Power * Forms of Social Power * Sources of Authority or Legitimacy * Consequences and Problematics of Power. 3. Nations and States. Nature and Role of the Modern State System. Nature and Forms of Government. Nations, Nationality, Nationalism. The Modern Nation State. The Liberal Constitutional State * Role Expansion and Functions of the State * Interpretations and Theories of Modern Nation States. 4. Structure and Behavior of U.S. Elites. Inevitability of Elites. Recruitment and Succession of Elites. Social Cohesiveness of Elites. Studies on Elite Integration. The Variability of Elites: The Consensual Unity of Elites. Profile of Elite Structure in the United States. The Socialization and Education of Elites. 5. Media Communication and Power. Mass Media and Society. Power Control of and Access to Media. Ownership of the Media. The Nature of Media Control * Access to the Media * Mass Media Content and Agenda Setting * The Power Elite and the Media. Media Effects. 6. Civil-Military Relations. Professional Consideration. Conceptual Frameworks. The Concept of the Military Industrial Complex. Indicators of the Military-Industrial Complex. Military Interventionism and Praetorianism. III. ELECTORAL POLITICS AND MOVEMENTS. 7. Political Participation and Voting. The Nature and Concept of Political Participation. Defining Political Participation. Participation, Conceptualization, Sophistication. Why People Participate in Politics. Models of Political Participation. Who Are the Participants? Sociodemographic Correlates Class Voting: The Declining Significance Hypothesis Class Voting: The Trendless Fluctuation Hypothesis s Class Mobility and Status Inconsistency Sociopsychological Correlates Political Socialization. 8. Political Parties. Defining Political Parties. Factions, Movements, and Interest Groups. Party Structure. Party Functions. Western Europeans and U.S. Party Systems. Partisanship Alignment, Realignment, Dealignment. The Social Bases of Partisanship and the 1992 Presidential Election. The Future of Political Parties. Continuity and Change. 9. Political Ideology. The Beginnings of Ideology. Attitudes Concerning Political Change Models of Ideology. The Non-Marxian View of Ideology. Contemporary Conceptions and Typologies of Political Ideology. Attitudinal and Behavioral Conceptions Structural-Functional Conceptions Psychocultural Conceptions. Historical Political Ideologies and Contemporary Political Systems. Liberalism, Conservatism, and Socialism. Capitalism, Political Power, and Ideology. The End of Ideology Debate. 10. Social and Political Movements. Defining Social and Political Movements. Typology of Social Movements. Perspective on Social and Political Movements. Resource Mobilization and Organizational Models. Research on Social Movements. How to Understand and Analyze Social Movements. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. IV. DEVELOPMENT AND WORLD POLITICS. 11. Democratization and Development. Democracy, Democratization, and Development: Conceptual Clarification. Measures of Democratization. The Concepts of Development and Modernization. Theoretical Explanations of Democratization and Development. Competing Theoretical Approaches to Modernization and Development. Studies on the Social Requisites of Democracy and Development. Prospects for Democracy and Development. 12. Social Conflict and Ethnic Nationalism. Ethnic Conflict and Mobilization: A World Perspective. Interethnic Conflicts and Ethnic Violence Around the World. Ethnic Nationalism. An Analysis of Ethnic Subnationalism in the Former Yugoslavia. 13. Politics and Society in the Post-Cold War Era. The International System of Nation-States. Perspectives and Visions of the New International System. The End of the Cold War and the Process of Globalization. Perspectives Concerning World Order. Contending Global Images of World Order. Contending Models for the Post-Cold War Era. Index.

Endogenous tax determination and the distribution of wealth

Abstract: In this paper a dynamic model is constructed in which labor and capital taxes are determined endogenously through majority voting. The wealth distribution of the economy is shown to influence the voting behavior and hence the equilibrium levels of the tax rates, which in turn affect the future distribution of wealth. It is shown that the economy exhibits a unique dynamic behavior. Because the tax rates are endogenously determined, asset prices, wealth distribution, and the tax rates can display persistent fluctuations or cycles in reaction to exogenous disturbances, or even due to initial conditions. “Tax smoothing” does not necessarily appear to arise naturally in such an environment. The features in the model that can produce these fluctuations are studied in detail.

The Political Foundations of Development Policies

Abstract: Why have many Third World governments pursued economic policies that manifestly reduced the welfare of their countries? This book argues that one major factor was the nature of the political structure of these countries: political clientelism. This strategy involved a program of import-substitution, and more generally, the expansion of the government and a comprehensive regulation of the private sector. The author argues that political clientelism accounts for the adoption and persistence of this strategy in a wide variety of circumstances. Such a political structure consists of an aggregation of patron-client networks bound together by the exchange of material benefits for political support. This can lead to factionalism, politicization, a high level of administrative corruption, a low degree of legitimacy, and to a weak state that is exposed to increasing demands for goods and services and privileges by political supporters. The inward-looking development then results from attempts to satisfy these demands. The analysis suggests that a permanent transition to a superior development strategy hinges on changes in political processes such as the behavior of voters. Structural reforms in an unchanged political environment are therefore likely to be unsuccessful.

Electoral Competition with Policy Compromise

Abstract: We study the electoral competition between two parties vying for seats in a legislature. The electorate includes knowledgeable voters and impressionable voters, the latter susceptible to electioneering activities. A special interest group provides campaign financing in exchange for influence over the platforms. The parties take positions on two issues, one on which their divergent platforms are fixed and another pliable issue where their announcements are used to woo dollars and votes. The interest group contributes with the knowledge that the final policies will be a compromise between the positions of the two parties.We examine two modes of voting behavior. When knowledgeable voters vote sincerely, the parties' positions on thepliable issue diverge, and the more popular party caters more to the special interest group. When knowledgeable voters vote strategically , the interest group often induces the parties to announce identical pliable platforms. We investigate the determinants of the platforms, contributions, vote counts, and policy compromise, and consider how changes in legislative institutions might affect these outcomes.;