Mali

This paper reveals a counterintuitive finding: political competition can reduce local public goods provision by undermining legislative bargaining efficiency. Using panel data from Mali, the authors demonstrate that increased competition leads to lower spending on public services despite its traditional role in incentivizing incumbents.

This study argues that citizens who underestimate government capabilities hold politicians accountable at lower standards. To test this hypothesis, a field experiment delivered civics courses to randomly selected communities across 95 Malian localities.