Direct Democracy and Resource Allocation: Experimental Evidence from Afghanistan
38 Pages Posted: 29 Sep 2011 Last revised: 1 Oct 2016
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Direct Democracy and Resource Allocation: Experimental Evidence from Afghanistan
Direct Democracy and Resource Allocation: Experimental Evidence from Afghanistan
Date Written: September 30, 2016
Abstract
Direct democracy is designed to better align policy outcomes with citizen preferences. To test this proposition, we randomized whether 250 villages across Afghanistan selected projects by secret-ballot referenda or by consultation meetings. We find that referenda reduce the influence of local elites over both project type and location. Consistent with previous experimental results, we also find that referenda improve villagers’ perceptions of the local economy and of the quality of local governance. However, we find no systematic evidence that selecting projects via referenda increases the average impact of such projects.
Keywords: political institutions, field experiment, electoral system, direct democracy
JEL Classification: D7, O1
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
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