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Do rival political parties enforce government efficiency? Evidence from Canada 1867–2021

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  • J. Stephen Ferris

    (Carleton University)

  • Marcel-Cristian Voia

    (LEO - Laboratoire d'Économie d'Orleans [2022-...] - UO - Université d'Orléans - UT - Université de Tours - UCA - Université Clermont Auvergne, UniBuc - University of Bucharest)

Abstract

This paper investigates the role of inter-party rivalry in enhancing federal government efficiency in post-Confederation Canada. It tests and finds confirmation in the data for two hypotheses. The first is that the ex post size of the first versus second seat share margin is a useful metric for the ineffectiveness of political parties in policing the incumbent's spending behaviour over its period of tenure. The second is the hypothesis that shirking by the incumbent governing party is decreased by greater expected electoral contestability and expected contestability is related to the effective number of competing parties (ENPSeats) nonmonotonically. In this regard the results suggest that contestability in Canada reaches a maximum when the incumbent faces a value of ENPSeats that is closer to 2.5 than Duverger's 2.
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Suggested Citation

  • J. Stephen Ferris & Marcel-Cristian Voia, 2022. "Do rival political parties enforce government efficiency? Evidence from Canada 1867–2021," Post-Print hal-03810540, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03810540
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2022.102313
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    2. J. Stephen Ferris & Bharatee Bhusana Dash, 2024. "Between Election Rivalry and the Agency Costs of Government: The Effectiveness of Party Competition Across Indian States, 1957–2018," Public Finance Review, , vol. 52(3), pages 314-344, May.

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