Roxana Gutiérrez-Romero

The Perils and Pitfalls of Performance Measurement: The CPA Regime for Local Authorities in England

From 2002 comprehensive performance assessment (CPA) has been used by the Audit Commission to scrutinize service delivery in English local authorities across six service blocks: benefits; social care; environment; libraries and leisure; use of resources; education and housing. The authors examined CPA in terms of how vulnerable it is to categorization errors and gaming, whether it is consistent with other government policies and how it deals with uncontrollable factors. CPA failed all of these tests.

An Inquiry into the Use of Illegal Electoral Practices and Effects of Political Violence and Vote-buying

This article investigates whether vote-buying and the instigation of violence in the disputed 2007 Kenyan elections were strategically motivated and whether those affected by vote-buying or post-electoral violence changed their views toward ethnopolitics and the use of violence. To answer these questions, a panel survey conducted before and after the elections is combined with external indicators of electoral violence. We find that vote-buying was used to mobilize parties’ own strongholds. Political parties also targeted vote-buying and threats toward specific ethnic groups and areas, potentially to weaken the support of their political rivals. In addition, we find that the victims of post-electoral violence are more likely to identify in ethnic terms and support the use of violence. The non-victims of post-electoral violence, but who experienced vote-buying after our first survey are also more likely to support the use of violence.

To What Extent Did Ethnicity and Economic Issues Matter in the 2007 Disputed Kenyan Elections

This article assesses the key factors that influenced the intention to vote in the 2007 presidential election in Kenya, using data from a survey and other external datasets. Ethnicity was found to be one of the main factors. However, access to private and public goods, poverty and differences in wealth across ethnic groups also mattered, depending on how the voter claimed to be self�?identified. Those who self�?identified in terms of their ethnicity were influenced the most by access to services such as schools, health clinics and police stations, evidence suggesting that voters use ethnicity as a proxy to gauge which candidates will give them greater access to services provided by the state.

How Does Inequality Affect Long-Run Growth?

This article shows that countries with higher historical levels of income inequality, dating back to the early 1800s, experienced lower rates of growth centuries after in terms of number of firms created, number of employees hired, firms’ output, value added and profit margin. To increase the understanding as the channels through which historical inequality deterred growth, the article exploits the differences across industries’ intensities in skilled labour, physical capital, dependence on external finance and written contracts across 28 sectors in 57 countries during the 1985–2010 period. It is shown that industries relatively more in need of external finance and contracts experienced lower firm creation growth in countries with higher levels of past inequality. Similarly, industries intensive in skilled labour and physical capital experienced lower rate of growth in the number of employees hired, firms’ output and real value in more unequal countries.

Does inequality foster or hinder the growth of entrepreneurship in the long-run?

Abstract This chapter assesses the extent to which historical levels of inequality affect the creation and survival of businesses over time. To this end, we use the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor survey across 66 countries over 2005–2011. We complement this survey with data on income inequality dating back to early 1800s and current institutional environment, such as the number of procedures to start a new business, countries’ degree of financial inclusion, corruption and political stability. We find that, although inequality increases the number of firms created out of need, inequality reduces entrepreneurial activity as in net terms businesses are less likely to be created and survive over time. These findings are robust in using different measures of inequality across different points in time and regions, even if excluding Latin America, the most unequal region in the world. Our evidence then supports theories that argue early conditions, crucially inequality, influence development path.