Miriam A. Golden

This Element presents newly-collected cross-national data on reelection rates of lower house national legislators from almost 100 democracies around the world. Reelection rates are low/high in countries where clientelism and vote buying are high/low. Drawing on theory developed to study lobbying, the authors explain why politicians continue clientelist activities although they do not secure reelection. The Element also provides a thorough review of the last decade of literature on clientelism, which the authors define as discretionary resource distribution by political actors. The combination of novel empirical data and theoretically-grounded analysis provides a radically new perspective on clientelism. Finally, the Element suggests that clientelism evolves with economic development, assuming new forms in highly developed democracies but never entirely disappearing.

Korruptio on vuosituhantinen ihmiskunnan riivaaja, joka perustuu ansiottoman arvonnousun pumppaamiseen ja rahan häikäilemättömän ryöväämiseen. Harvalukuista politiikan ja talouden eliittiä hyödyttävä korruptio vääristää taloutta, mädättää hallintoa, rapauttaa demokratiaa ja ylläpitää äärimmäistä köyhyyttä. Sen aiheuttamat yhteiskunnalliset kustannukset lasketaan tuhansissa miljardeissa.Kirjan näkökulma on yleismaailmallinen ja esimerkeiltään pahimpiin korruptiopesäkkeisiin painottuva, mutta se tarjoaa runsaasti ajattelemisen aihetta myös hyväuskoiselle sivustakatsojalle. Suomalainen lukija ei välttämättä ole tullut käsittäneeksi ongelman kaikkinaista viheliäisyyttä, vaikka onkin tavan takaa saanut kuulla uutisia maan taloudellisen ja poliittisen eliitin korruptioepäilyistä, -syytteistä ja -tuomioista. Viisaus on yhtä vanha kuin korruption historia: valta turmelee.Ray Fisman on käyttäytymistaloustieteen professori Bostonin yliopistosta. Miriam A. Golden on politiikan tutkimuksen professori Kalifornian yliopistosta Los Angelesista.

Corruption regularly makes front page headlines: public officials embezzling government monies, selling public offices, and trading bribes for favors to private companies generate public indignation and calls for reform. In Corruption: What Everyone Needs to Know®, renowned scholars Ray Fisman and Miriam A. Golden provide a deeper understanding of why corruption is so damaging politically, socially, and economically. Among the key questions examined are: is corruption the result of perverse economic incentives? Does it stem from differences in culture and tolerance for illicit acts of government officials? Why don't voters throw corrupt politicians out of office? Vivid examples from a wide range of countries and situations shed light on the causes of corruption, and how it can be combated.

Corruption regularly makes front page headlines: public officials embezzling government monies, selling public offices, and trading bribes for favors to private companies generate public indignation and calls for reform. In Corruption: What Everyone Needs to Know®, renowned scholars Ray Fisman and Miriam A. Golden provide a deeper understanding of why corruption is so damaging politically, socially, and economically. Among the key questions examined are: is corruption the result of perverse economic incentives? Does it stem from differences in culture and tolerance for illicit acts of government officials? Why don't voters throw corrupt politicians out of office? Vivid examples from a wide range of countries and situations shed light on the causes of corruption, and how it can be combated.

Heroic Defeats is a comparative investigation of how unions and firms interact when economic circumstances require substantial job loss. Using simple game theory to generate testable propositions about when these situations will result in industrial conflict, Professor Golden illustrates the theory in a range of situations between 1950 and 1985 in Japan, Italy, and Britain. Additionally, the author shows how the theory explains why strikes over job loss almost never occur in postwar unionised firms in the United States. With its blend of rational choice and comparative politics, Heroic Defeats is the first systematic attempt to account for industrial conflict or its absence in situations of mass job loss. This book should be of interest to political scientists, sociologists, economists, and students of labour and industrial relations, as well as specialists in European and Japanese history.