Abstract

MORENO JAIMES, Carlos. The Nexus between Quality of Governance and Elections: Conceptual Discussion and Evidence from Local Government in Mexico. Perf. latinoam. [online]. 2012, vol.20, n.39, pp.59-90. ISSN 0188-7653.

This paper presents an introductory discussion on the relationship between electoral democracy and the quality of governments. It briefly reviews the main conceptual dilemmas faced by the contemporary literature when trying to define the term "quality of government", and it proposes a definition that underlines the impartiality of governmental processes, the responsiveness of governments, and their effectiveness. Based on such definition, the paper analyzes the complex relationship between democratic elections and quality of government from a theoretical perspective. Finally, it discusses the case of municipal governments in Mexico to illustrate the problems of governmental quality at the local level.

Keywords : democracy; quality of government; local governance; Mexico.

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