This paper examines the relationship between regional or 'contextual' poverty, income inequality and unemployment and individual political participation in the mid-1990s for the following Western European countries: Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. This...

Drawing on insights from Latin America, this paper examines the factors that contributed to the use of populist strategies by political parties during recent presidential elections in Kenya, South Africa, and Zambia. Specifically, the paper argues that the nature of party competition in Africa,...

In India's discussion on financial inclusion for development, the critical issues of areas in the North Eastern Region which have been excluded all the six decades because of the typical property rights regime prevailing there are never touched. The paper is an attempt to emphasize the necessity...

Rapid urbanization is transforming the developing world, but the political consequences of this transformation are not well understood. In this paper, we argue that political contention and mobilization in the urban environment differs from other forms of political activity in its scale, speed,...

Why are some countries in sub-Saharan Africa more prone to outbreaks of urban protests than others? Drawing together insights from the contentious politics and conflict studies literatures I develop an empirical model of protest incidence comprised of basic demographic, political and economic...

Africa's interior-to-coast roads are well suited to export natural resources, but not to support regional trade. Are they the optimal response to geography and comparative advantage, or the result of suboptimal political distortions? We investigate the political determinants of road paving in...

Africa's interior-to-coast roads are well suited to export natural resources, but not to support regional trade. Are they the optimal response to geography and comparative advantage, or the result of suboptimal political distortions? We investigate the political determinants of road paving in...

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a multibillion-dollar infrastructure investment project, is heralded as a game changer for Pakistan's economy. It is part of the major development initiative led by China, known as ‘One Belt, One Road' (OBOR), connecting Asia with Europe, the Middle...

The paper considers the impact of political institutions on economic growth applying the case of Russian regions in 2000-2004. First, it studies the influence of democracy on the economic performance, providing evidence for non-linear relation between democracy and economic growth. Regions with...