This book investigates parliaments’ role in curbing corruption. In addition to discussing the definition, causes, and costs of corruption and the role that parliaments have in reducing corruption, the authors consider contemporary issues that parliamentarians – and others – need to be aware of. These include the importance of broad-based coalitions to fight corruption and networking at the country, regional and global level, the importance – and difficulties – of establishing parliamentary...

This book investigates Parliaments’ capacity to oversee government activities, policies and expenditures. Utilising a comparative approach, the book presents a new examination of oversight tools and discusses the conditions under which such tools are employed effectively.The result of a 9-year collaboration between the authors, this book draws from the findings of survey data collected by the World Bank Institute and the Inter-Parliamentary Union, analysing information from 120 par...

Very little research has been conducted on how parliamentary oversight is undertaken in small countries and jurisdictions or across the southern African region (excluding South Africa). This groundbreaking book fills that void, providing rich insights into how oversight works in these countries.Featuring an expert group of scholars and practitioners, the book builds off previous research projects to offer detailed case study examinations of oversight across various global regions, ...

Some of the most far-reaching and innovative parliamentary reform is occurring in Africa. While these reforms are not yet widespread across the continent, parliaments in some African countries are asserting their independence as policymakers, as overseers of government and as the guardian of citizens’ rights and needs.This book presents recent reforms in selected African parliaments – Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Benin, Zambia, Ethiopia, Liberia and Nigeria. It also pres...

Local government is the hidden leviathan of American politics: it accounts for nearly a tenth of gross domestic product, it collects nearly as much in taxes as the federal government, and its decisions have an enormous impact on Americans' daily lives. Yet political scientists have few explanations for how people vote in local elections, particularly in the smaller cities, towns, and suburbs where most Americans live. Drawing on a wide variety of data sources and case studies, this book of...

Preferential trading arrangements (PTAs) play an increasingly prominent role in the global political economy, two notable examples being the European Union and the North American Free Trade Agreement. These agreements foster economic integration among member states by enhancing their access to one another's markets. Yet despite the importance of PTAs to international trade and world politics, until now little attention has been focused on why governments choose to join them and how governm...

The Oxford Handbook on the World Trade Organization provides an authoritative and cutting-edge account of the World Trade Organization. Its purpose is to provide a holistic understanding of what the WTO does, how it goes about fulfilling its tasks, its achievements and problems, and how it might contend with some critical challenges. The Handbook benefits from an interdisciplinary approach. The editorial team comprises a transatlantic partnership between a political scien...

In Party Politics and Economic Reform in Africa's Democracies, M. Anne Pitcher offers an engaging new theory to explain the different trajectories of private sector development across contemporary Africa. Pitcher argues that the outcomes of economic reforms depend not only on the kinds of institutional arrangements adopted by states in order to create or expand their private sectors, but also on the nature of party system competition and the quality of democracy in particular countries. To...

This work seeks to look beyond the seemingly endless deadlock in the WTO’s Doha round of trade negotiations that began in November 2001 and were first scheduled to conclude by January 1, 2005. As well as offering an incisive analysis of the ills of the round, with particular attention directed at the poorest and least developed countries, the book expands on how the round could be moved forward elaborating on the Statement on the Doha Development Agenda that was negotiated in Johannesburg ...

It is increasingly argued that bargaining between citizens and governments over tax collection can provide a foundation for the development of responsive and accountable governance in developing countries. However, while intuitively attractive, surprisingly little research has captured the reality and complexity of this relationship in practice. This book provides the most complete treatment of the connections between taxation and accountability in developing countries, providing both new ...

Ghana was one of the first African countries to adopt a comprehensive IMF reform program and the one that has sustained adjustment longest. Yet, questions of Ghana's compliance - to what extent did it comply, how did it manage compliance, what patterns of non-compliance existed, and why? - have not been systematically investigated and remain poorly understood.This book argues that understanding the domestic political environment is crucial in explaining why compliance, or the lack ...

In recent years Africa appears to have turned a corner economically. It is posting increased growth rates and is no longer the world's slowest growing region. Commentators are beginning to ask whether emerging from Africa is a new generation of 'lion' economies to challenge the East Asian 'tigers'? This book goes behind the headlines to examine the conditions necessary not just for growth in Africa but for a wider business and economic transformation. Contrary to neoliberal economics, it a...