The Political Economy of Government Responsiveness: Theory and Evidence from India
@article{Besley2000ThePE, title={The Political Economy of Government Responsiveness: Theory and Evidence from India}, author={Timothy J. Besley and Robin Burgess}, journal={CEPR Discussion Paper Series}, year={2000} }
The determinants of government responsiveness to its citizens is a key issue in political economy. Here we develop a model based on the solution of political agency problems. Having a more informed and politically active electorate strengthens incentives for governments to be responsive. This suggests that there is a role both for democratic institutions and the mass media in ensuring that the preferences of citizens are reflected in policy. The ideas behind the model are tested on panel data…
1,597 Citations
Political Cycles, Political Institutions and Public Expenditure in India, 1980–2000
- Political Science, EconomicsBritish Journal of Political Science
- 2009
In Western democracies it is held that parties and their positions affect how politicians choose to make public expenditure and investment. This article examines the public policy choices of…
Electoral Outcomes and Provision of Public Goods: A Case Study of India
- Economics, Political Science
- 2016
ABSTRACT This paper analyses the implications of political factors on provision of public goods by state governments in India. Using data on state governments’ expenditure and constituency results of…
Newspaper Circulation and Local Government Efficiency
- Economics, Political Science
- 2011
In this paper, we examine the role of the newspaper market for a key aspect of political accountability: the efficient use of public funds by elected politicians. Newspapers are a major provider of…
The political determinants of fiscal policies in the states of India: An empirical investigation
- Economics
- 2006
Abstract Using data from the 14 major states of India, we investigate whether state governments' fiscal policy choices are tempered by political considerations. Our principal findings are twofold.…
Democracy, Public Expenditures, and the Poor: Understanding Political Incentives for Providing Public Services
- Economics, Political Science
- 2005
The incentives of politicians to provide broad public goods and reduce poverty vary across countries. Even in democracies, politicians often have incentives to divert resources to political rents and…
The Allocation of Public Goods and National Elections in Ghana
- Economics
- 2011
The body of literature on purely democratic countries can sometimes fail to explain the behavior of government in semi-democratic African countries. Empirical and theoretical political economic…
Political Economy of Public Policies: Insights from Distortions to Agricultural and Food Markets
- EconomicsWorld Scientific Reference on Asia-Pacific Trade Policies
- 2020
The agricultural and food sector is an ideal case for investigating the political economy of public policies. Many of the policy developments in this sector since the 1950s have been sudden and…
Accountability and Political Competition: Theory and Evidence ∗
- Economics, Political Science
- 2002
One of the central issues in political economy concerns how to create a form of government that responds to voters needs. The preconditions for achieving this are widely debated. Recent interest has…
Accountability of Local and State Governments in India: An Overview of Recent Research
- Political Science
- 2014
The paper discusses the notion of accountability, followed by an introduction to the Downsian theory of electoral competition. This serves as a point for classifying different sources of…
References
SHOWING 1-10 OF 42 REFERENCES
Political Economics: Explaining Economic Policy
- Economics, Political Science
- 2000
What determines the size and form of redistributive programs, the extent and type of public goods provision, the burden of taxation across alternative tax bases, the size of government deficits, and…
Elected Versus Appointed Regulators: Theory and Evidence
- Economics, Political Science
- 2000
This paper contrasts direct election with political appointment of regulators. When regulators are appointed, regulatory policy becomes bundled with other policy issues the appointing politicians are…
Land Reform, Poverty Reduction and Growth: Evidence from India
- Economics
- 1998
In recent times there has been a renewed interest in relationships between redistribution, growth and welfare. Land reforms have been central to strategies to improve the asset base of the poor in…
Electoral Competition in the American States
- Economics, Political ScienceAmerican Political Science Review
- 1993
Electoral competition is a concept that has played a central role in much of the state politics literature. One commonly used indicator of competition in the states is the Ranney index. We offer an…
India: Economic Development and Social Opportunity
- Economics
- 1996
This book presents analysis of endemic deprivation in India and the role of public action in addressing the problem. The analysis is based on a broad view of economic development, focusing on human…
Minority Representation and Policy Choices: The Significance of Legislator Identity
- Political Science, Economics
- 1999
Disadvantaged groups tend also to constitute population minorities. One consequence of this is that the policies implemented by electorally accountable governments often fail to reflect minority…
Toward a More General Theory of Regulation
- EconomicsThe Journal of Law and Economics
- 1976
In previous literature, George Stigler asserts a law of diminishing returns to group size in politics: Beyond some point it becomes counterproductive to dilute the per capita transfer. Since the…
Southern Politics In State and Nation
- History
- 1984
More than thirty years after its original publication, V. O. Key's classic remains the most influential book on its subject. Its author, one of the nation's most astute observers, drew on more than…