Does political competition lessen ethnic discrimination? Evidence from Sri Lanka

Economic consequences of war: Evidence from Sri Lanka

“…Therefore, as the ethnic conflict has finally come to an end, a policy framework with appropriate institutional reforms is needed to lead the economy to rapid growth and development. (Sharif, 2011) has highlighted the importance of a proper institutional framework without political influence to reduce ethnic discrimination, which is vital for future stability and development of the country. Overall, our findings contribute to the existing literature and provide an appropriate theoretically based modelling technique to analyse the relationship between a war and economic growth.…”

“…The declaration of Sinhalese as the official language by the government in the 1960s led to ethnic tensions and conflicts between Tamils and Sinhalese as Tamils believed they had been discriminated by the government as well as by the Sinhalese majority (Arunatilake et al, 2001;Sharif, 2011) 7 . Tensions between Tamils and the government intensified in the late 1970s with the formation of several armed militant groups within the Tamil community.…”

Politics, Public Works and Poverty: Evidence from the Bangladesh Employment Generation Programme for the Poorest

“…In such situations in which PWP resources essentially become discretionary at the local level, this paper argues that local politicians determine who benefits from these programs. The theory that vote-maximizing behavior of politicians influences the allocation of discretionary social assistance is well established and empirically shown in the literature on "pork barrel" politics (Cox and McCubbins, 1986;Lindbeck and Weibull, 1987;Dixit and Londregan, 1996;Schady, 2000;Case, 2001; Dahlberg and Johansson, 2002;Sharif, 2011). A "pork-barrel" project is a publicly funded project promoted by a politician to bring money and jobs to his or her own district.…”

The Effects of Political Competition on Rural Land: Evidence from Pakistan

“…The third examines how political competition impacts the security environment. For example, political competition can make ethnically divided societies more inclusive by reducing the ability of politicians to discriminate or favor particular groups over others-leading them to focus on a broader set of citizens (Sharif 2011). Political competition can also boost interactions among citizens, and between citizens and their governments, reducing conflict and yielding peaceful, institutionalized mechanisms for resolving grievances (Robertson and Teitelbaum 2011).…”