In a representative democracy politicians should either implement policies that voters want or policies that politicians believe are in voters long-term interest, even if voters currently oppose them. While the exact balance between these goals is debatable, politicians can also have strong...

Corruption remains a major challenge to sustainable economic growth, good governance, peace, and stability in both developed and developing countries. However, in developing countries, and particularly in Africa, hunger is another big challenge to inclusive economic development. To date, no...

Corruption remains a major challenge to sustainable economic growth, good governance, peace, and stability in both developed and developing countries. However, in developing countries, and particularly in Africa, hunger is another big challenge to inclusive economic development. To date, no...

In this paper, we analyze the effects of religious identity - defined both as personal identification with a religious tradition and institutional ideas on the provision of public goods - on attitudes toward central government. We explore whether citizens belonging to collectivist rather than...

In this paper, we analyze the effects of religious identity – defined both as personal identification with a religious tradition and institutional ideas on the provision of public goods – on attitudes toward central government. We explore whether citizens belonging to collectivist rather...

Die Transformationsländer Mittel- und Osteuropas (MOE) stecken in der Zwickmühle. Einerseits zwingt der Wettkampf um international knappes Kapital möglicherweise zu Steuersenkungen, die zu Einnahmeausfällen führen. Andererseits werden gerade in Zeiten der Transformation staatliche Einnahmen...

In this paper we explore current understandings of the influence of political rights, among historical legacies, on economic development. We construct variables for selected political regimes for 1811-2010. We find significant association between individual rights and economic growth. We argue...

This paper examines the big questions of African comparative politics. It assesses the interaction of three crucial components in the development of the continent: law, democracy and quality of government. Political regimes of democracy, polity and autocracy are instrumented with income-levels,...

This paper focuses on how political regimes affect financial development in Africa, contingent on religious-domination, income-levels and colonial-legacies. The main findings are summarized as follows. Authoritarian regimes have a higher propensity to effect policies that favour the development...

This paper examines interconnections between law, politics and the quality of government in Africa. We investigate whether African democracies enjoy relatively better government quality compared to their counterparts with more autocratic inclinations. The empirical evidence is based on...