American Economic Review
ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)
The Value of Democracy: Evidence from Road Building in Kenya
American Economic Review
vol. 105,
no. 6, June 2015
(pp. 1817–51)
(Complimentary)
Abstract
Ethnic favoritism is seen as antithetical to development. This paper provides credible quantification of the extent of ethnic favoritism using data on road building in Kenyan districts across the 1963-2011 period. Guided by a model, it then examines whether the transition in and out of democracy under the same president constrains or exacerbates ethnic favoritism. Across the post-independence period, we find strong evidence of ethnic favoritism: districts that share the ethnicity of the president receive twice as much expenditure on roads and have five times the length of paved roads built. This favoritism disappears during periods of democracy. (JEL D72, H54, J15, O15, O17, O22, R42)Citation
Burgess, Robin, Remi Jedwab, Edward Miguel, Ameet Morjaria, and Gerard Padró i Miquel. 2015. "The Value of Democracy: Evidence from Road Building in Kenya." American Economic Review 105 (6): 1817–51. DOI: 10.1257/aer.20131031Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D72 Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
- H54 National Government Expenditures and Related Policies: Infrastructures; Other Public Investment and Capital Stock
- J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
- O15 Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
- O17 Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements
- O22 Project Analysis
- R42 Transportation Economics: Government and Private Investment Analysis; Road Maintenance, Transportation Planning