Using nationwide survey data collected in China in 2005, we reexamine findings reported by Tsai (2007) on governmental informal accountability at the local level. Our analysis indicates informal governmental accountability, as a form of informal institution, serves as an important link between...

Few political scientists would deny the centrality of institutions in comparative political studies. Institutions, conceptualized as “the rules of the game in society” (North 1990, 3), impose constraints on people’s behavior and shape their strategies of interaction. These humanly devised...