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

该项目分析了地方公共产品支出的决定因素，在一个发展中的民主国家，肯尼亚，通过检查几个不同的议会选区之间的国家的选区发展基金（CDF）的管理变化。它的重点是如何当地的人口特征，如种族划分和公民参与公共生活共同塑造激励政治家针对特定社区的公共工程项目。原始调查研究和访谈数据将研究这些社会特征在多大程度上导致政治家优先考虑某些群体的利益，以及政治家如何以符合其政治目标的方式管理基金。在这样做，这项研究有助于在发展中国家，政府努力提供基本的服务，以其citizen.Intellectual Merit：最近的工作种族和公共产品的民主治理的有效性的概括知识的增长，有助于澄清的机制，种族多样性的负面影响水平的公共产品的提供。然而，这种研究往往侧重于多样性本身，而不是审查种族分裂的政治显着性。这一重点往往是在真空中审查族裔问题，脱离实际分配决定所处的政治体制和社会背景。通过批判性地研究民族身份如何与这些背景特征相互作用，本研究将提供一个更完整的图片在发展中国家的民主国家的分配政治。此外，通过系统地比较不同层次的公民参与的选区，研究促进了理论的测试表明，广泛的公民参与可以引起更大的公共责任从llegislator.Broader影响：这项研究直接谈到了非洲新的民主国家的表现实际关注的问题。了解族群认同和公民社会行为如何影响公共产品的提供，对于确保代议制治理和促进公平发展至关重要。这些信息将有助于急于扩大向更广泛的人口群体提供公共产品的政策制定者。此外，研究人员将能够在肯尼亚学术界、研究人员正在取得研究联系的大学以及在美国的研讨会和会议上广泛分享研究成果。该项目的调查数据也将公开提供。

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.