Working Paper: NBER ID: w21058
Authors: Gerard Padró i Miquel; Nancy Qian; Yiqing Xu; Yang Yao
Abstract: This paper aims to show that culture is an important determinant of the effectiveness of formal democratic institutions, such as elections. We collect new data to document the presence of voluntary and social organizations and the history of electoral reforms in Chinese villages. We use the presence of village temples to proxy for culture, or more specifically, for social (civic) capital and show that their presence greatly enhances the increase in public goods due to the introduction of elections. These results support the view that social capital complements democratic institutions such as elections.
Keywords: Culture; Social Capital; Elections; Public Goods; China
JEL Codes: H41; P16
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| introduction of elections (K16) | public goods expenditure (H49) |
| social capital (Z13) | public goods expenditure (H49) |
| elections (K16) | accountability (M48) |
| accountability (M48) | public goods provision (H41) |
| elections + social capital (D72) | public goods expenditure (H49) |
| low social capital (Z13) | elections explain little increase in public goods expenditure (H49) |
| social capital enhances effectiveness of elections (D72) | public goods provision (H41) |