Journal articles
Year
2014
Abstract
Are elections in autocracies a curse for incumbents? Using panel data from village elections in China, the OLS regression shows that introducing competitive elections has a relatively small effect on the removal of autocratic incumbents. However, the effect becomes much larger when the endogenous timing is instrumented with the passage of provincial election laws and village-specific election cycles. Additional evidence also suggests that removing incumbents through competitive elections enhances local governance. I interpret these results as suggesting that political selection matters in electoral autocracies.
HAN, L. (2014). Are Elections a Curse for Incumbents in Autocracies? Evidence from Chinese Villages. Public Choice, 158(2014), pp. 221–242.