This paper is one of the first to systematically identify the relative influence of ethnic identity, campaign strategies of political parties' candidates , poverty, evaluations of public and private goods performance in making citizens turning new democracies into swing voters. It brings...

It is widely believed that clientelism-the giving of material goods in return for electoral support-is associated with poorer development outcomes. However, systematic cross-country evidence on the deleterious effects of clientelism on development outcomes is lacking. In this paper we examine...

What makes opposition parties win elections in sub-Saharan Africa? The literature on voters in Africa tells us that ballots are won over by clientelism rather than by economic development, thus undermining the quality of collective goods provision and democratic accountability. We challenge this...