We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Can extreme rainfall trigger democratic change? The role of flood-induced corruption.
- Authors
Rahman, Muhammad; Anbarci, Nejat; Bhattacharya, Prasad; Ulubaşoğlu, Mehmet
- Abstract
Using a new dataset of extreme rainfall covering 130 countries from 1979 to 2009, this paper investigates whether and how extreme rainfall-driven flooding affects democratic conditions. Our key finding indicates that extreme rainfall-induced flooding exerts two opposing effects on democracy. On one hand, flooding leads to corruption in the chains of emergency relief distribution and other post-disaster assistance, which in turn impels the citizenry to demand more democracy. On the other hand, flooding induces autocratic tendencies in incumbent regimes because efficient post-disaster management with no dissent, chaos or plunder might require government to undertake repressive actions. The net estimated effect is an improvement in democratic conditions.
- Subjects
RAINFALL; POLITICAL corruption; HISTORY of democracy; FLOODS &; society; DISASTER relief; POLITICAL persecution; EMERGENCY management policy; POLITICAL change -- History; HISTORY
- Publication
Public Choice, 2017, Vol 171, Issue 3/4, p331
- ISSN
0048-5829
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s11127-017-0440-1