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Fourth Branch Agencies: A Silver Bullet for Making Government Accountable?

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  • Gutmann, Jerg
  • Voigt, Stefan

Abstract

A new consensus appears to have emerged among academics and policy practitioners: Governments can be made to respect constitutional rules by establishing and constitutionally entrenching watchdogs, such as anti-corruption commissions, electoral commissions, or ombudspersons. In this article, we evaluate the consequences of what we propose to call the New York Consensus. We find that fourth branch agencies can increase constitutional compliance, but their effects are largely limited to higher income countries with a democratic political system.

Suggested Citation

  • Gutmann, Jerg & Voigt, Stefan, 2025. "Fourth Branch Agencies: A Silver Bullet for Making Government Accountable?," ILE Working Paper Series 88, University of Hamburg, Institute of Law and Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:ilewps:88
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Voigt, Stefan & Gutmann, Jerg, 2013. "Turning cheap talk into economic growth: On the relationship between property rights and judicial independence," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 66-73.
    2. Jerg Gutmann & Stefan Voigt, 2023. "Militant constitutionalism: a promising concept to make constitutional backsliding less likely?," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 195(3), pages 377-404, June.
    3. Hayo, Bernd & Voigt, Stefan, 2023. "Judicial independence: Why does de facto diverge from de jure?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    4. Hanna Lerner & David Futscher Pereira & Nina Schlager, 2025. "International constitutional advising: Introducing a new dataset," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 669-699, September.
    5. Jacint Jordana & Xavier Fernández‐i‐Marín & Andrea C. Bianculli, 2018. "Agency proliferation and the globalization of the regulatory state: Introducing a data set on the institutional features of regulatory agencies," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 12(4), pages 524-540, December.
    6. Negretto, Gabriel L. & Sánchez-Talanquer, Mariano, 2021. "Constitutional Origins and Liberal Democracy: A Global Analysis, 1900–2015," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 115(2), pages 522-536, May.
    7. Weingast, Barry R., 1997. "The Political Foundations of Democracy and the Rule of the Law," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 91(2), pages 245-263, June.
    8. Barry R. Weingast, 2005. "The Constitutional Dilemma of Economic Liberty," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 19(3), pages 89-108, Summer.
    9. Jerg Gutmann & Katarzyna Metelska-Szaniawska & Stefan Voigt, 2024. "The comparative constitutional compliance database," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 95-115, January.
    10. Negretto, Gabriel L. & Sánchez-Talanquer, Mariano, 2021. "Constitutional Origins and Liberal Democracy: A Global Analysis, 1900–2015 — ERRATUM," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 115(3), pages 1110-1110, August.
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