Lecture 8: Distortions for voters - clientelism and corruption

Question 1

In what 2 ways does democracy promote development?

Answer 1

1. Accountability for politicians in enforcing the rules and delivering development
2. Credibility for the protection of (property) rights

Question 2

3 problems of democracies bringing about development

Answer 2

1. Short-term bias and focus on reelection can lead to less long-term investments and commitment problems (why invest now if my successor might cancel it?)
2. Voters remember recent events more sharply, so politicians concentrate their investments and forbearance just before an election - but voters do not take this into account when voting
3. A ‘concrete bias’ as politicians only invest in visible development like concrete buildings, abolition of school fees etc. but not in the hidden input like teacher training, maintanance of buildings etc.

Question 3

Definition: clientelism

Answer 3

The contingent exchange of material benefit for political support

Question 4

How can politicians do clientelism is everyone has a right to, for example, health care?

Answer 4

They can use discretion to twist the rules and limit access

Question 5

3 varieties of clientelism

Answer 5

1. Patronage: distributing public jobs
2. Vote-buying
3. Relational: long-term ties of trust between parties and voters

Question 6

4 ways clientelism negative affects development

Answer 6

1. Ruins system of meritocracy for bureaucrats as unqualified people get jobs
2. Puts accountability into question -> electing rich and corrupt people
3. No incentive to invest in public goods that all enjoy; focus on paying back the people who voted for you
4. Does not lead to institutions that protect investments which lead to development; anyone can have their ideas or factories taken from them

Question 7

Clientelism in many developing countries is…

Answer 7

A norm/informal institution

Question 8

What is the opposite of clientelism?

Answer 8

Programmatic politics where politicians offer distinct programs of policies and public goods; they can target groups of citizens based on socioeconomic characteristics but not on their political/voting behavior, and benefits is for all in that group, not only the people who voted for it

Question 9

In what 4 ways does clientelism harm public service?

Answer 9

1. Prioritizes private goods over more efficient public goods
2. A patronage bureaucracy has less autonomy
3. A lack of accountability for corrupt politicians, inverting democratic accountability
4. Property rights protection is less credible and depends on who you vote for

Question 10

In the two Mexican social development programs, which one was more effective?

Answer 10

Progresa (not clientelist) was much more effective as a development program (benefitted the poor and voters for all parties), but not popular in election which the clientelist pronasol was

Question 11

2 ways that democracy (can) affect clientelism?

Answer 11

1. Democracy encourages programmatic parties and broad appeals using public goods
2. Democracy can create competitive clientelism, where politicians use clientelism to ensure they stay in power and giving the incumbent an advantage by having access to resources and networks of clientelism

Question 12

In Mexico, how did democratization lead to more programmatic social policies - 3 points

Answer 12

1. The state had the capacity to deliver and monitor
2. The threat of violence of clientelism continued from Zapatista Rebellion
3. The opposition controlled the legislature and could constrain the government’s discretion

Question 13

Definition: Corruption

Answer 13

The misuse of public power for personal gains, e.g. bribery, extortion, fraud, collusion

Question 14

Petty vs. grand corruption

Answer 14

Petty corruption is low-scale, e.g. bribes to police to pass a roadblock or get a driving license faster

Grand corruption is billions on dollars going into the pockets of politicians, usually to fund election campaigns and personal lifestyle

Question 15

If Kenya had a zero corruption campaign, would it boost development?

Answer 15

Yes, people will have more protection of their rights and people become more willing to invest

No:
- It will distract from spending money on development
- Corruption is useful for companies and encourage investments (use corruption instead of judicial system to ensure property rights)
- Corruption is part of the context and social norms of a country, and changing social norms takes time

Question 16

In what 4 ways does corruption harm development?

Answer 16

1. Wasting scarce resources - 5% of global GDP
2. Discouraging investment and merit (bureaucrats pay for jobs where they can be corrupt)
3. Weakening institutions which affects how you govern
4. Undermining trust in the state

Question 17

4 reasons why corruption may be a symptom/response of weak institutions and weak state rather than a root cause of it

Answer 17

1. Corruption helps protect property rights if institutions don’t, making investments possible
2. Corrupt politicians can get government to work when there’s no embedded autonomy (better to have 10% stolen and roads build than 10% stolen and no roads build)
3. Corruption is electoral campaign financing, essential to political competition without public funding
4. Corruption is an informal institution

Question 18

Since corruption is a symptom of weak institutions and state, anti-corruption measures

Answer 18

Often don’t work because they don’t address the root cause

Question 19

Does democracy increase corruption?

Answer 19

In transitional democracies with weak institutions, there is more competition for office, thus more electoral financing is needed, leading to more corruption

But corruption might be more visible in democracies than authoritarian regimes

In consolidated democracies, there are active anti-corruption agencies and informal institutions against corruption

Question 20

Eliminating corruption is not

Answer 20

Necessary or sufficient for development