|
DRG Learning Quarterly V-Dem Special Edition
February 2019
|
Welcome to the February 2019 DRG Learning Quarterly, the newsletter that will keep you informed on new learning, evaluation, and research in the DRG sector.
This edition of the Learning Quarterly features
Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem)
research using a database established by the V-Dem Institute, based in the Department of Political Science at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. The V-Dem Institute has established a novel approach to conceptualizing and measuring democracy (in addition to liberal democracy and electoral democracy, there five other types!) in addition to creating a free, public database containing over 19 million data points that covers 201 countries from 1789-2017. V-Dem research can improve how governments, development agencies and NGOs design effective programs, conduct country assessments and evaluate the impact of development assistance in the DRG sector. The DRG Learning Division is working with V-Dem on a number of research products, country data portraits, regional trend analyses and online data visualization tools.
The reports highlighted in this quarterly examine the relationship between media and civil society for government accountability and risk of autocratization, aid and corruption, inclusion and economic growth, as well as women in governance and human development.
The primary findings from this research are:
- Media and Civil Society: As a government's accountability to media and civil society (i.e., diagonal accountability) increases, political elites initially try to maintain power and countries are prone to backsliding. Eventually, however, the cost of suppressing media and civil society crosses a tipping point, and risk of autocratization is diminished.
- Anti-Corruption: Sometimes foreign aid may expand avenues for corruption, but the type of aid and category of corruption have varied and nuanced findings.
- Social Inclusion: Greater political power for women and the LGBT community is positively associated with stronger economic development.
- Women's Empowerment: Greater political empowerment for women is significantly associated with lower infant mortality rates, higher life expectancy and higher average years of education.
See the summaries below for additional details.
|
Holding Governments Accountable Through Media and Civil Society
Diagonal accountability is the relationship between a government's accountability to media and civil society. Autocratization risk is defined here as the decline in a country's democratic qualities.
The diagram to the left illustrates the relationship between autocratization risk and diagonal accountability.
V-Dem's research argues that as diagonal accountability increases, elites will work to maintain their political power before the potential cost imposed by civil society actors outweighs the benefits of allowing them to operate freely. Conversely, when diagonal accountability actors-civil society organizations, a free and pluralistic media and an engaged citizenry-are well established and the cost of suppression is high, it is more difficult for elites to take steps towards autocratization without being exposed.
Indicators that capture freedom of expression and alternative forms of information, as well as measures of civil society organizations, have a stronger relationship with autocratization onset than do indicators that measure the level of citizen engagement in a society. These findings are more pronounced in electoral autocracies relative to electoral and liberal democracies.
The brief provides two important policy recommendations to counter the global challenge of autocratization:
1. The achievement of a transition from electoral autocracy to democracy is important in reducing the risk for autocratization.
2. Policy strategies and activities that strengthen the media and alternative sources of information can be seen as part of a broader counter-autocratization strategy.
|
The "Resource Curse:" How Does Foreign Aid Affect Corruption?
This research paper draws from newly available cross-national datasets from the V-Dem Institute and
AidData
to examine the role that aid levels have on corruption.The paper explores whether influxes in aid act as a "resource curse" that increases corruption or if corruption is reduced as the international community becomes more involved and economic development improves.
The analysis indicates that aid can facilitate corruption, but that the relationship depends on the type of aid and corruption in question. Large aid inflows may increase corruption over time, although there is no significant relationship between aid shocks (severe decreases in aid revenues) and levels of corruption.
Legislative corruption is most affected by aid inflows, while judicial aid is particularly vulnerable to the "curse" when appropriate government oversight and accountability is not enforced.
Read the
research paper
for additional information.
|
Generating Economic Growth Through Inclusion and Civil Rights
This research explores the economic growth outcomes of civil liberties protection and the political inclusion of women, LGBT, economically disadvantaged and other minority groups. Through a literature review and panel data analysis, the paper suggests that political inclusion may foster economic development by:
- Allowing all minority groups to be represented in politics to thereby defend their own policy priorities and enable them to realize their potential.
- Bringing more voices into the political decision-making process, which would promote economic innovation, improving the quality of economic policies.
- Increasing public support across a broader range of represented groups, for policies and their sustainability in the long run.
The results show that certain civil liberties are positively linked to economic growth rates. There is robust evidence that greater political power for women and the LGBT community is a significant predictor of economic development. This conclusion implies a positive link between economic performance and citizens' civil liberties and inclusive political power.
Read the research paper for additional information.
|
Empowering Women, Advancing Human Development
A combination of legal and normative restrictions has significantly limited the extent to which women historically have engaged in governance and politics. This paper examines the extent to which political empowerment for women has influenced human development.
Development actors and academics argue that ignoring gender disparities hinders development and poverty alleviation. Researchers highlight that exclusionary and corrupt governance weakens governments' incentives to improve population health. Additionally, the presence of women in leadership positions may mitigate corruption, which in turn could result in better governance and service delivery.
Quantitative analyses show that greater political empowerment for women is significantly associated with lower infant mortality rates, higher life expectancy, and higher average years of education. Additionally, in examining the interaction between women's political empowerment and corruption, results show that the effects on human development outcomes are at their highest in countries that work to maintain low levels of corruption and high inclusivity for women.
Read the research paper for additional information.
|
|
Recommended Reading:
Informal Order and the State in Afghanistan, by Jennifer Murtazashvili 2016. Cambridge University Press. Winner of the 2018 Central Eurasian Studies Society Best Book Prize.
"Despite vast efforts to build the state, profound political order in rural Afghanistan is maintained by self-governing, customary organizations.
Informal Order and the State in Afghanistan
explores the rules governing these organizations to explain why they can provide public goods. Instead of withering during decades of conflict, customary authority adapted to become more responsive and deliberative. Drawing on hundreds of interviews and observations from villages across Afghanistan, and statistical analysis of nationally representative surveys, Jennifer Murtazashvili demonstrates that such authority enhances citizen support for democracy, enabling the rule of law by providing citizens with a bulwark of defense against predatory state officials. Contrary to conventional wisdom, it shows that 'traditional' order does not impede the development of the state because even the most independent-minded communities see a need for a central government-but question its effectiveness when it attempts to rule them directly and without substantive consultation."
We welcome your feedback on this newsletter and on our efforts to promote the accessibility, dissemination, and utilization of DRG research. Please visit the
DRG Center's website
for additional information.
|
|
