In political science, one issue still in need of greater theorizing is the proper measurement of
bureaucratic autonomy, that is, the degree of discretion that political principals should grant …

Bureaucracy is everywhere. Unelected bureaucrats are a key link between government and
citizens, between policy and implementation. Bureaucratic politics constitutes a growing …

Measuring high-level corruption is subject to extensive scholarly and policy interest, which
has achieved moderate progress in the last decade. This article develops two objective …

The increased focus on marketizing mechanisms and contracting‐out operations following
the New Public Management reform agenda has sparked a debate on whether the close …

State capture and corruption are widespread phenomena across the globe, but their
empirical study still lacks sufficient analytical tools. This paper develops a new conceptual …

In theory, granting politicians tools to oversee bureaucrats can reduce administrative
malfeasance. In contrast, I argue that the political control of bureaucrats can increase …

Incoming governments sometimes abuse their power to manipulate the allocation of
government contracts so as to buy loyalty from cronies. While scandals suggest such …

In countries around the world, politicians distribute patronage jobs to supporters in
exchange for a wide range of political services–such as helping with campaigns and …

Bureaucratic behavior in developing countries remains poorly understood. Why do some
public servants—yet not others—work hard to deliver public services, misuse state …

Instrumental variable (IV) strategies are widely used in political science to establish causal
relationships. However, the identifying assumptions required by an IV design are …