We explore how electoral rules and cultural traits (namely, the degree of civicness) interact in shaping elected officials' behaviour. We use a dataset that includes the expenditure proposals sponsored by members of the Italian Senate from 1993 to 2012 (as well as other individual and district...

This paper is a study of the influence of economic and political conditions on the results of incumbent parties' candidates in local elections in France. The large sample used covers 586 towns and two elections (2001 and 2008). It explicitly deals with the specificities induced by the tworound...

In Bogota reforms in 1991 blocked a market for buying and selling of votes. The patronage lost effectiveness, citizens developed a vote of opinion and the city demonstrated an outstanding performance in the provision of public goods and services. This story is illustrated by a new panel with...