Research

The Value of Democracy: Evidence from Road Building in Kenya

Robin Burgess, Remi Jedwab, Edward Miguel, Ameet Morjaria, and Gerard Padró i Miquel
2015
African DevelopmentPolitical Economy and Conflict
aer 2E20131031.pdf
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 1963 to 2011 period, we Â…find strong evidence of ethnic favoritism: districts that share the ethnicity of the president receive twice as much expenditure on roads and have four times the length of paved roads built. This favoritism disappears during periods of democracy.

The value of democracy in the world’s poorest region: Evidence from Kenya’s road buildingVox EU
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Collective Action in Diverse Sierra Leone CommunitiesPublished PaperAfrican DevelopmentHealthEducation and Human CapitalPolitical Economy and Conflict2013
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Ethnic Diversity, Social Sanctions, and Public Goods in KenyaPublished PaperAfrican DevelopmentPolitical Economy and Conflict2005
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Political Competition and Ethnic Identification in AfricaPublished PaperAfrican DevelopmentPolitical Economy and Conflict2010
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Tribe or Nation? Nation Building and Public Goods in Kenya Versus TanzaniaPublished PaperAfrican DevelopmentHealthEducation and Human CapitalPolitical Economy and Conflict2004
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Africa’s Turn?
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Masters in Development Practice (MDP) ChatEvans Hall, U.C. BerkeleyNovember 21, 2014
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Annual Bank Conference on Africa (ABCA) 2015UC BerkeleyJune 8, 2015
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