Write up of first talk with David Robertson.
Notion of government accountability - how to define it and how to measure it.
How good is the political system - is democracy rule by the people or rule for the people? What is the difference?
Efficiency of parliamentary democracy - can we have sustained policy outcomes that are unpopular
inefficient market for policies / market for competence
Breaking manifesto pledges - is it undemocratic to do so?
How do features of the political system influence government accountability?
- voter turnout
Does it make much difference which party is in power, for example w.r.t long term projects, e.g. defence expenditure
Capital expenditure can be an indicator
Constitutional reforms - evolves through non-democratic methods (judicial decisions)
Conditional outcomes - means versus ends
Written versus unwritten conventions can dissipate
Party policies may be determined by party interests at the time, e.g. 1979 election focus on nuclear missiles.
Do parties set the agenda or do people?
Free party political broadcasts?
Entry costs of politics
Direct democracy: e.g. California panders to populist policies
Should election laws be in the constitution - French system parties can change the electoral laws without changing the constitution
Constitutional engineering to increase accountability
Sociological change - elected politicians are professional politicians.
Question I want to answer
Can we measure the efficiency of democratic systems?
Index of efficiency - cost of setting up a new party (based on the number of new parties registered?)
Literature on democratic accountability - accountability measured by? average number of portfolios over a certain time period
Percentage of "wasted votes"?
Literature search - government accountability,
Downs 1957 An economic theory of democracy
Schumpeter
Look again at the voting and elections literature
Constitutionalism - can constitutions make democracies more accountable
What institutional features affect the accountability of democratic governments
Efficiency and accountability: are efficient political systems more accountable to their electorates?
Idea about Accountability - from Downs an Economic Theory of Democracy - to what extent is each vote equal. His theory that uncertainty requires representatives which causes some voters to be worth more than others. Structure of the voting system etc. e.g. FPTP vs PR
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