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Organizing for prosperity : collective action, political parties and the political economy of development

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  • Keefer, Philip

Abstract

The ability of citizens to act collectively plays a central role in major debates in the political economy of development, including the causes and consequences of democratization and clientelism. This essay uses two lines of research to underscore the importance of explicitly introducing the organization of collective action into these debates. Exhaustive research on the management of open access resources demonstrates that citizens'ability to act collectively depends on non-trivial organizational arrangements that allow leaders to sanction free-riding and allow members to replace leaders if they shirk. Other research demonstrates wide variability in the organization of political parties. In countries where political parties do not have these two organizational characteristics, public policies are less friendly to economic development. This evidence suggests that in future research on democracy, state-building and development, citizen organization should be a central object of analysis.

Suggested Citation

  • Keefer, Philip, 2013. "Organizing for prosperity : collective action, political parties and the political economy of development," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6583, The World Bank.
  • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6583
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    Cited by:

    1. Independent Evaluation Group, 2014. "World Bank Group Activities in Situations of Conflict and Violence : An IEG Evaluation," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 20762, December.
    2. Eicher, Theo S. & García-Peñalosa, Cecilia & Kuenzel, David J., 2018. "Constitutional rules as determinants of social infrastructure," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 182-209.
    3. von Schiller, Armin, 2015. "Party System Institutionalization and Reliance on Personal Income Tax in Developing Countries," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 7351, Inter-American Development Bank.
    4. van Beers, Cees & Strand, Jon, 2013. "Political determinants of fossil fuel pricing," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6470, The World Bank.
    5. Wehner,Joachim Hans-Georg & Mills,Linnea Cecilia, 2020. "Cabinet Size and Governance in Sub-Saharan Africa," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9232, The World Bank.
    6. Hanusch, Marek & Keefer, Philip, 2013. "Promises, promises : vote-buying and the electoral mobilization strategies of non-credible politicians," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6653, The World Bank.

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    Keywords

    Parliamentary Government; Microfinance; Corporate Law; Politics and Government; Political Systems and Analysis;
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