UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND. CENTER FOR INSTITUTIONAL REFORM AND THE INFORMAL SECTOR (IRIS)
Civil liberties, democracy, and the performance of government projects
This article used a multi-national data set on the performance of government investment projects financed by the World Bank to examine the link between civil liberties and the performance of government projects.
Isham, Jonathan; Kaufmann, Daniel +1 more · 1970
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Abstract
The link was found to be substantial, as large as the more celebrated impact of economic distortions on project returns. Even after controlling for other determinants of performance, countries with the strongest civil liberties have projects with economic rates of return 8-22% higher than countries with the weakest civil liberties. These findings increase support for the view that suppressing liberties is likely to be inimical to government performance and, conversely, that increasing citizen voice and public accountability can increase the efficacy of government action. Includes references. (Author abstract, modified)
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