Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-nr4z6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-11T00:21:36.791Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Was it worth the trouble? Limited competition and citizen well-being under authoritarian rule

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 January 2016

Andrea Cassani
Andrea Cassani*
Affiliation:
Department of Social and Political Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
*
*E-mail: andrea.cassani@unimi.it
Get access

Abstract

The last part of 20th century saw the collapse of a dramatic number of dictatorships. Rather than democracy, several of these transitions brought regimes where limited political competition coexists with persistently authoritarian practices. The diffusion of this form of authoritarianism in the developing world raises several questions about its broader consequences. Most importantly, does political change short of democratization matter for ordinary citizens? Recent research demonstrates that nominally democratic institutions, even in the absence of people empowerment, can result in better living conditions. The paper adds to this debate by formulating and testing new hypotheses. I compare electoral authoritarianism with democracy and full dictatorship, including specific subtypes of the latter, and focus on both policy outputs and outcomes.

Keywords

electoral authoritarianismdemocratizationdevelopmentquantitative analysis
Type
Research Article
Information
Italian Political Science Review / Rivista Italiana di Scienza Politica , Volume 46 , Supplement 1 , March 2016 , pp. 93 - 113
Copyright
© Società Italiana di Scienza Politica 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alesina, A., Devleeschauwer, A., Easterly, W., Kurlat, S. and Wacziarg., R. (2003), ‘Fractionalization’, Journal of Economic Growth 8: 155–194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beck, N. and Katz., J. (1995), ‘What to do (and not to do) with time-series-cross-section data in comparative politics’, American Political Science Review 89(3): 634–647.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beck, N. and Katz., J. (2011), ‘Modeling dynamics in time-series-cross-section political economy data’, Annual Review of Political Science 14: 331–352.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beck, T., Clarke, G., Groff, A., Keefer, P. and Walsh., P. (2001), ‘New tools in comparative political economy: the database of political institutions’, World Bank Economic Review 15(1): 165–176.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Besley, T. and Kudamatsu., M. (2007), ‘Making autocracy work’, LSE Research Paper Series, London.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bogaards, M. (2010), ‘Measures of democratization: from degree to type to war’, Political Research Quarterly 63(2): 475–488.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bogaards, M. (2012), ‘Where to draw the line? From degree to dichotomy in measures of democracy’, Democratization 19(4): 690–712.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boix, C. and Svolik., M. (2013), ‘The foundations of limited authoritarian government: institutions, commitment, and power-sharing in dictatorships’, Journal of Politics 75(2): 300–316.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brooker, P. (2000), ‘Non-democratic regimes’, Theory, Government and Politics, New York: St. Martin’s Press.Google Scholar
Brown, D. and Hunter., W. (1999), ‘Democracy and social spending in Latin America, 1980-92’, American Political Science Review 93(4): 779–790.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brownlee, J. (2007), Authoritarianism in an Age of Democratization, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brownlee, J. (2009), ‘Portent of pluralism: How hybrid regimes affect democratic transitions’, American Journal of Political Science 53(3): 512–532.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bueno de Mesquita, B., Morrow, J., Siverson, R. and Smith., A. (1999), ‘Policy failure and political survival: the contribution of political institutions’, Journal of Conflict Resolution 43(2): 147–161.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carbone, G. (2009), ‘The consequences of democratization’, Journal of Democracy 20(2): 123–137.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carbone, G. (2011), ‘Democratic demands and social policies: the politics of health reform in Ghana’, Journal of Modern African Studies 49(3): 381–408.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cassani, A. (2014), ‘Hybrid what? Partial consensus and persistent divergences in the analysis of hybrid regimes’, International Political Science Review 35(5): 542–558.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Charron, N. and Lapuente., V. (2011), ‘Which dictators produce quality of government?’, Studies in Comparative International Development 46(4): 397–423.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheibub, J.A., Gandhi, J. and Vreeland., J. (2010), ‘Democracy and dictatorship revisited’, Public Choice 143(1–2): 67–101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Boef, S. and Keele., L. (2008), ‘Taking time seriously’, American Journal of Political Science 53(1): 184–200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diamond, L. (2002), ‘Thinking about hybrid regimes’, Journal of Democracy 13(2): 21–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elster, J. (1982), ‘Sour grapes: utilitarianism and the genesis of wants’, in A. Sen and B. Williams (eds), Utilitarianism and Beyond, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 219–238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evans, P. (1989), ‘Predatory, developmental, and other apparatuses: a comparative political economy perspective on the third world state’, Sociological Forum 4(4): 561–587.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gandhi, J. (2008), Political Institutions Under Dictatorship, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gandhi, J. and Przeworski., A. (2006), ‘Cooperation, cooptation, and rebellion under dictatorships’, Economics and Politics 18(1): 73–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gandhi, J. and Przeworski., A. (2007), ‘Authoritarian institutions and the survival of autocrats’, Comparative Political Studies 40(11): 1279–1301.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gerring, J., Thacker, S. and Alfaro., R. (2012), ‘Democracy and human development’, Journal of Politics 74(1): 1–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ghobarah, H., Huth, P. and Russett., B. (2004), ‘Comparative public health: the political economy of human misery and well-being’, International Studies Quarterly 48(1): 73–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Halperin, M., Siegle, J. and Weinstein., M. (2005), The Democracy Advantage: How Democracies Promote Prosperity and Peace, New York and Oxford: Routledge.Google Scholar
Herb, M. (2004), ‘Princes and parliaments in the Arab world’, Middle East Journal 58(3): 367–384.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Honaker, J. and King., G. (2010), ‘What to do about missing values in time-series cross-section data’, American Journal of Political Science 54(2): 561–581.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huntington, S. (1968), Political Order in Changing Societies, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Huntington, S. (1991), The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century, Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.Google Scholar
Hyde, S. and Marinov., N. (2011), ‘Which elections can be lost?’, Political Analysis 20(2): 191–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Inglehart, R. and Welzel., C. (2005), Modernization, Cultural Change, and Democratization. The Human Development Sequence, New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Jensen, N., Malesky, E. and Weymouth., S. (2014), ‘Unbundling the relationship between authoritarian legislatures and political risk’, British Journal of Political Science 44(3): 655–684.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keefer, P. and Khemani., S. (2005), ‘Democracy, public expenditures and the poor: understanding political incentives for providing public services’, The World Bank Research Observer 20: 1–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kenyon, T. and Naoi., M. (2010), ‘Policy uncertainty in hybrid regimes: evidence from firm-level surveys’, Comparative Political Studies 43(4): 486–510.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kjaer, A. M. and Therkildsen., O. (2012), ‘Elections and landmark policies in Tanzania and Uganda’, Democratization 20(4): 592–614.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knutsen, C. H. and Nygard., H. (2015), ‘Institutional characteristics and regime survival: why are semi-democracies less durable than autocracies and democracies?’, American Journal of Political Science 59(3): 656–670.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lake, D. and Baum., M. (2001), ‘The invisible hand of democracy: political control and the provision of public services’, Comparative Political Studies 34(6): 587–621.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levitsky, S. and Lucan., W. (2010), Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes After the Cold War, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lindberg, S. (ed.) (2009), Democratization by Elections: A New Mode of Transition, Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lust-Okar, E. (2006), ‘Elections under authoritarianism: preliminary lessons from Jordan’, Democratization 13(3): 456–471.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Magaloni, B. (2006), Voting for Autocracy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Magaloni, B. (2008), ‘Credible power-sharing and the longevity of authoritarian rule’, Comparative Political Studies 41(4–5): 715–741.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mares, I. and Carnes., M. (2009), ‘Social policy in developing countries’, Annual Review of Political Science 12: 93–113.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marshall, M., Jaggers, K. and Gurr., T. R. (2013), Polity IV Project: Political Regime Characteristics and Transitions, 1800-2013: Dataset Users’ Manual, Vienna, VA: Center for Systemic Peace.Google Scholar
Meltzer, A. and Richard., S. (1981), ‘A rational theory of the size of government’, Journal of Political Economy 89(5): 914–927.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, M. (2015a), Elections, information, and policy responsiveness in autocratic regimes’, Comparative Political Studies 48(6): 691–727.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miler, M. (2015b), Electoral authoritarianism and human development’, Comparative Political Studies 48(12): 1526–1562.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mulligan, C., Gil, R. and Sala-i-Martin., X. (2004), ‘Do democracies have different public policies than nondemocracies?’, Journal of Economic Perspectives 18(1): 51–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Munck, G. and Verkuilen., J. (2002), ‘Conceptualizing and measuring democracy: evaluating alternative indices’, Comparative Political Studies 35(1): 5–34.Google Scholar
O’Donnell, G. (1973), Modernization and Bureaucratic-Authoritarianism, Berkeley, CA: Institute for International Studies.Google Scholar
Olson, M. (1993), ‘Dictatorship, democracy and development’, American Political Science Review 87(3): 567–576.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Przeworski, A. (1991), Democracy and the Market: Political and Economic Reforms in Eastern Europe and Latin America, New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Przeworski, A., Michael, A., Cheibub, J.A. and Limongi., F. (2000), Democracy and Development: Political Institutions and Well-Being in the World, 1950–1990, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ross, M. (2012), The Oil Curse: How Petroleum Wealth Shapes the Development of Nations, Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schedler, A. (2002), ‘The menu of manipulation’, Journal of Democracy 13(2): 36–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schedler, A. (ed.) (2006), Electoral Authoritarianism: The Dynamics of Unfree Competition, Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schedler, A. (2013), The Politics of Uncertainty. Sustaining and Subverting Electoral Authoritarianism, New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Svolik, M. (2012), The Politics of Authoritarian Rule, New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Von Hippel, P. (2007), ‘Regression with missing Ys: an improved strategy for analysing multiply imputed data’, Sociological Methodology 37(1): 83–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wahman, M., Teorell, J and Hadenius., A. (2013), ‘Authoritarian regime types revisited: updated data in comparative perspective’, Contemporary Politics 19(1): 19–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wintrobe, R. (1998), The Political Economy of Dictatorship, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, J. (2008), ‘Do authoritarian institutions constrain? How legislatures affect economic growth and investment’, American Journal of Political Science 52(2): 322–343.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zweifel, T. and Navia., P. (2000), ‘Democracy, dictatorship, and infant mortality’, Journal of Democracy 11(2): 99–114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Cassani supplementary material

Appendix

Download Cassani supplementary material(File)
File 77.6 KB
Supplementary material: Link

Cassani Dataset

Dataset

https://dx.doi.org/10.7910/DVN/TWA4NM
Link