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Free and Fair Elections – A New Database

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  • Sylvia Bishop
  • Anke Hoeffler

Abstract

The holding of elections has become universal but only about half of all elections have been free and fair. Electoral malpractice not only distorts the quality of representation but has implications for political, social and economic outcomes. Existing datasets either provide broad information on election quality for large panels or they provide very detailed information on electoral processes and events for a small number of elections. Our data collection effort closes this gap. We provide an assessment of elections that is closely tied to the commonly used term ‘free and fair’ and base this proxy on ten variables for a global panel. Our preliminary results suggest that there are a number of elections that are unfree but fair. Most observer organisations concentrate on the election as an event, i.e. whether the election was fair. We therefore recommend that international organisations should put more emphasis on monitoring the run up to the elections, i.e. whether the elections were free.

Suggested Citation

  • Sylvia Bishop & Anke Hoeffler, 2014. "Free and Fair Elections – A New Database," CSAE Working Paper Series 2014-14, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    • Handle: RePEc:csa:wpaper:2014-14
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    File URL: https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:a3b3aff5-3f65-4bdc-b260-35ac8d3bf91c
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Beck, Thorsten & Clarke, George & Groff, Alberto & Keefer, Philip & Walsh, Patrick, 2000. "New tools and new tests in comparative political economy - the database of political institutions," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2283, The World Bank.
    2. Paul Collier & Anke Hoeffler, 2009. "Democracy’s Achilles Heel or, How to Win an Election without Really Trying," CSAE Working Paper Series 2009-08, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    3. Paul Collier & Anke Hoeffler, 2009. "Democracy's Achilles Heel or, How to Win an Election without Really Trying," Economics Series Working Papers CSAE WPS/2009-08, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    4. Robert H. Bates & Steven A. Block & Ghada Fayad & Anke Hoeffler, 2013. "The New Institutionalism and Africa," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 22(4), pages 499-522, August.
    5. repec:oup:jafrec:v:22:y:2013:i:4:p:-522 is not listed on IDEAS
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    1. Andrea Colombo & Olivia D'Aoust & Olivier Sterck, 2019. "From Rebellion to Electoral Violence: Evidence from Burundi," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 67(2), pages 333-368.
    2. Olivier Sterck, 2020. "Fighting for Votes: Theory and Evidence on the Causes of Electoral Violence," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 87(347), pages 844-883, July.

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