Doctoral Dissertation Research in Political Science: Ethnicity, Civic Participation, and Public Goods in Kenya

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This project analyzes the determinants of local public goods spending in a developing democracy, Kenya, by examining variation in the management of the country's Constituency Development Fund (CDF) between several different parliamentary constituencies. It focuses on how local demographic features like ethnic divisions and civic participation in public life jointly shape the incentives of politicians to target particular communities for public works projects. Original survey research and interview data will examine the extent to which these social features lead politicians to privilege the interests of certain groups over others, as well as how politicians manage the fund in ways that are consistent with their political goals. In so doing, this study contributes to the growth of generalizable knowledge about the efficacy of democratic governance in the developing world, where governments struggle to deliver basic services to their citizens.Intellectual Merit: Recent work on ethnicity and public goods has helped clarify the mechanisms by which ethnic diversity negatively impacts levels of public goods provision. However, this research too often focuses on diversity itself rather than examining the political salience of ethnic divisions. This focus tends to examine ethnicity in a vacuum, isolated from the political institutions and social contexts in which actual distributive decisions take place. By critically examining how ethnic identity interacts with these contextual features, the present study will offer a more complete picture of distributive politics in developing-world democracies. In addition, by systematically comparing constituencies with varying levels of civic participation, the study facilitates a test of theories suggesting that widespread civic engagement can induce greater public accountability from legislators.Broader Impact: This research speaks directly to matters of practical concern about the performance of new democracies in Africa. Understanding how ethnic identity and the behavior of civil society impact public goods provision is essential for ensuring representative governance and promoting equitable development. The information will be useful to policymakers eager to expand access to public goods provision to broader segments of the population. In addition, the investigators will be able to share the results of the research broadly within academic communities in Kenya, at the universities with which the researchers are obtaining research affiliations, as well as in seminars and conferences in the United States. Survey data from this project will likewise be made publicly available.