Essays on political economy of young, African democracies

The "new institutional economics" perspective has become an integral part of the literature on economic development identifying the institutional structure as a deep determinant of development. However, this literature is overwhelmingly based on the experiences of the established Western democracies and it remains highly questionable if its findings can be equally applied to the very different African context. Ultimately, several questions can be raised here: How deep are the roots of democratic institutions in Africa? How effective are the constraints on the political elite? And what does this entail for the distribution of resources? This thesis tries to provide some insights into these questions by studying them from three angles. First, it addresses the behavior of citizens. Second, it deals with the perspective of the political elite. Lastly, it takes a more encompassing view on specific governance outcomes.