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Clientelism, public goods provision, and governance

Author

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  • Maria C. Lo Bue
  • Kunal Sen
  • Staffan I. Lindberg

Abstract

It is widely believed that clientelism—the giving of material goods in return for electoral support—is associated with poorer development outcomes. However, systematic cross-country evidence on the deleterious effects of clientelism on development outcomes is lacking. In this paper we examine the relationship between political clientelism, public goods provision, and governance quality using cross-country panel data for 161 countries for the period 1900-2017.

Suggested Citation

  • Maria C. Lo Bue & Kunal Sen & Staffan I. Lindberg, 2021. "Clientelism, public goods provision, and governance," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2021-98, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2021-98
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Clientelism; Development; Benefit programmes; Corruption; Welfare;
    All these keywords.

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