TY - JOUR
T1 - Exporting democratic practices
T2 - Evidence from a village governance intervention in Eastern Congo
AU - Humphreys, Macartan
AU - Sánchez de la Sierra, Raúl
AU - Van der Windt, Peter
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was funded by the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3IE) and the Department for International Development, UK. We thank the International Rescue Committee, CARE International, and Chimanuka Bantuzeko for their partnership in that research. The full list of colleagues to whom we owe deep debts of gratitude, including at IRC and in DRC, is too long to list here but is provided in Acknowledgements. We thank Lily Medina and Clara Bicalho for excellent support with analysis. Humphreys thanks the Trudeau Foundation for support while this work was undertaken. This research was approved by Columbia University IRB and was implemented with consent of participating subjects. The study did not make use of deception at any stage. Van der Windt thanks Wageningen University. Hypotheses, econometric specifications and covariates were specified prior to the development of social science registries. See Humphreys et al. (2013); deviations from this plan are discussed in Appendix L.
Funding Information:
We have many people to thank for their input into this document and design. At the IRC all thanks to the head of research Jeannie Annan and her predecessor Jodi Nelson, Research and Evaluation Advisor Tom Shaw and Charles Lor before him, and Sheree Bennett for their critical contributions. Project directors have provided tremendous insight; we thank Francois Defourny, Sophie Dieselhorst, Linda Ehrichs, Jana Frey, and Liz McBride especially. Alyoscia D'Onofrio and Brian Sage provided critical strategic advice at key moments and Jo Abbott was an early supporter of this work at DFID, we thank her for her vision. Tuungane area coordinators, evaluation, and project staff have also been very generous. We thank especially Deogracias Mulewa, Jean Paul Zibika, and Vera Quina. Thanks too for support in critical moments to Ciarán Donnelly and Muriel Tschopp. We are deeply indebted to Gauthier Marchais for his invisible and invaluable work and to Genevieve Leroy for her unrivalled skills in organization, diplomacy, and investigation. Our warm appreciation too to Professor Chimanuka Bantuzeko and Professor Gabriel Kalaba who led the data collection efforts in the field. We are very deeply indebted to the extraordinary team of enumerators that implemented the complex instruments and protocols used here in the most difficult conditions. Specifically, we would like to thank: Aimable Amani Lameke, Assani Mwanambele, Willy Bahiga Muderhwa, Felly Banza, Mapendo Bashwira Esperance, Pole Pole Bazuzi Christian, Pascal Bini Shalukoma, Pascal Birindwa Mushengezi, Luc Bisimwa Ciza, Sylvain Bura Sanzwe, Sudi Bushiri Fabrice, Jean Luc Byaterana Ndatabaye, Cris Byoshi Batimanwa, Jeanne Bibi Chane, Andre Cishugi Rudahaba, Desire Cizungu Bazibuhe, Kawama Culu, Pascaline Furaha Kashusha, Christine Furha Amani, Jacques Ishara Maroyi, Edison Kabangu Mutuza, Esperance Kabumba Bapolisi, Francois Kabunda, John Kalala, Francois Kalindula, Mika Kalunda, Jacques Kambulu, Robince Kamena, Jean-Jacques Kamushi Ntawiha, Emmanuel Kandate Musema, Jean Marie Kankwende, Guy Kanyinda, Jean Pierre Katayi Kasongo, Venant Katuyu Musuhuke, Stella Kibunda Katamanga, Sylvie Kinja Mulumeoderhwa, Solange Kiwilo Kwambeya, Janvier Koko Kirusha, Freddy Koleramungu Zabandora, Eustache Kuliumbwa Lulego, Andres Lenge, Sylvain Limbisa, Andre Lisongomi, Simeon Lukeno Bikanaba, Cora Lukube, Stephane Lumbu Maliba, Lumbo lungumbu Papy, Bertine Lusagila Imani, Floribert Lwaboshi Nyamuhirwa, Daniel Malebwe, Dieudonné Masol, Christian Mastaki Mugaruka, Junior Matekete Mali, Julien Mboyo, Serge Mbundo, Eric Marcel Mbuya Wa Panga, Denis Mumba Kisunka, Dieudonné Mundala Mundala, Henriette Mupumba, Andre Murhula Nyamuhari, Alfonse Musau Kovo, Edmond Mutombo, Marie Louise Mwamini Mugalihiya, Jeannot Mwanza, Yvette Nafete Merimeri, Jeef Ngosa, Jacques Nzibonera Chance, Luc Ombeni Bashwira, Zack Onombe, Richard Rashidi, Sylvie Runiga Ombeni, Salomon Salumu Kombi, Marie Santa Katuyu, Alliance Shukuru Bahogwerhe, Alain Simba Delimena, Serge Songa Songa, Freddy Tshiza, Gerard Tukumbi Ramazani, Omambo Wembi Gerome, and Job Yav. Lots of support has also come from Columbia. We thank Caroline Peters for a million things, Eric Mvukiyehe for piloting many survey questions at baseline, Simon Collard-Wexler for piloting key endline questions, Grant Gordon for piloting the behavioral measures (and a lot more besides) and the ISERP team of Andrew Ratanatharathorn, Kristen Van Leuven, and Tiffany Kim for keeping things straight. We thank members of CAPERS as well as participants at the Bukavu 2010 summer workshop and the CSDS social cohesion workshop in 2011. Other colleagues we thank for generous advice are Don Green, Kosuke Imai, Jake Bowers, Chris Udry, and Chris Blattman. We acknowledge generous financial support for Columbia’s role from 3IE and thank in particular thank Annette Brown, Minna Madhok, Arun Virk, and Howard White. Most of all we thank the many thousands of Congolese respondents who gave their time voluntarily in the hope that by providing information they can contribute to the design of better development work in their areas, we hope that this will be the case.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2019/9
Y1 - 2019/9
N2 - We study a randomized Community Driven Reconstruction (CDR) intervention that provided two years of exposure to democratic practices in 1250 villages in eastern Congo. To assess its impact, we examine behavior in a village-level unconditional cash transfer project that distributed $1000 to 457 treatment and control villages. The unconditonal cash transfer provides opportunities to assess whetherpublic funds get captured, what governance practices are employed by villagers and village elites and whether prior exposure to the CDR intervention alters these behaviors. We find no evidence for such effects. The results cast doubt on current attempts to export democratic practices to local communities.
AB - We study a randomized Community Driven Reconstruction (CDR) intervention that provided two years of exposure to democratic practices in 1250 villages in eastern Congo. To assess its impact, we examine behavior in a village-level unconditional cash transfer project that distributed $1000 to 457 treatment and control villages. The unconditonal cash transfer provides opportunities to assess whetherpublic funds get captured, what governance practices are employed by villagers and village elites and whether prior exposure to the CDR intervention alters these behaviors. We find no evidence for such effects. The results cast doubt on current attempts to export democratic practices to local communities.
KW - Culture
KW - Demonstration effects
KW - Institutions
KW - Political economy
KW - Political processes
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85068548409&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85068548409&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2019.03.011
DO - 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2019.03.011
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85068548409
SN - 0304-3878
VL - 140
SP - 279
EP - 301
JO - Journal of Development of Economics
JF - Journal of Development of Economics
ER -