Looking beyond the incumbent: The effects of exposing corruption on electoral outcomes

Ana De La O, Alberto Chong, Dean Karlan, Léonard Wantchékon, 23 January 2012

For democratic theorists, the notion that greater transparency improves accountability is axiomatic: when voters find out about political corruption, they punish the offending politicians by not voting for them again. But, the authors of CEPR DP8790 argue, many voters also respond to evidence of corruption by not voting at all – indicating that more transparency might not automatically result in a healthier democratic process.

Vox readers can download CEPR Discussion Paper 8790 for free here.

Journalists are entitled to free DP downloads on request; please contact pressoffice@cepr.org. To learn more about subscribing to CEPR's Discussion Paper Series, please visit the CEPR website.

Journalists are entitled to free DP downloads on request; please contact pressoffice@cepr.org. To learn more about subscribing to CEPR's Discussion Paper Series, please visit the CEPR website.

URL: http://www.cepr.org/DP8790
Topics: Development, Politics and economics
Tags: accountability, Corruption, democracy, elections, Information, transparency

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