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Decentralisation, Accountability and the 2007 MP Elections in Kenya

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  • Roxana Guti�rrez-Romero

Abstract

To alleviate poverty at the grass-roots level the Kenyan government has devised the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) which allocates resources to constituencies for MPs and residents to decide how to spend. This article assesses how the CDF has been spent since its implementation in 2003 and whether MPs' re-election chances were affected by how they managed the fund. Using administrative data on the CDF management and two surveys conducted before and after the 2007 MP election, it is found that the use of the CDF intensified nearer the elections. However, the probability of the MP being re-elected was not affected by the amount of reported funds spent, but by how the CDF was spent and by residents' ethnicity. MPs that ran the most projects on education and the least on other projects such as on health or water were less likely to be re-elected.

Suggested Citation

  • Roxana Guti�rrez-Romero, 2013. "Decentralisation, Accountability and the 2007 MP Elections in Kenya," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(1), pages 72-94, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jdevst:v:49:y:2013:i:1:p:72-94
    DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2012.714646
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Posner,Daniel N., 2005. "Institutions and Ethnic Politics in Africa," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521541794.
    2. Posner,Daniel N., 2005. "Institutions and Ethnic Politics in Africa," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521833981.
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    Cited by:

    1. Roxana Gutiérrez-Romero & Adrienne LeBas, 2020. "Does electoral violence affect vote choice and willingness to vote? Conjoint analysis of a vignette experiment," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 57(1), pages 77-92, January.
    2. Roxana Guti'errez-Romero, 2020. "Conflict in Africa during COVID-19: social distancing, food vulnerability and welfare response," Papers 2006.10696, arXiv.org.

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