Effects of Political Polarization on Government Efficacy

Poster Number

020

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Political Science

Faculty Mentor

Hye-Sung Kim, Ph.D.

Abstract

This study examines the factor of governmental efficacy. In particular, it tests whether the political polarization that exists within a country has a negative or positive correlation with the efficiency and productivity of the government by analyzing a panel dataset consisting of 214 countries covering the years 1975 to 2012. The dependent variable, government efficacy, is measured by analyzing perceptions of public service, policy formulation/implementation, and government credibility. This measure uses percentile rank from 0 to 100, with 100 being the highest possible rank. The independent variable, political polarization, is measured by the maximum difference in political orientation among government parties and this measure ranges from 0 to 2 — 0 meaning no polarization and 2 meaning highly polarized. This study finds that the correlation between these two variables is 0.399, and therefore, we have failed to reject our null hypothesis that polarization has a negative impact on efficiency. The findings of this study may imply that there is a statistically significant positive correlation between political polarization and government efficiency; however, there are many potential confounders for which to control during further study.

Course Assignment

PLSC 350 – Kim

Start Date

12-4-2019 12:00 PM

End Date

May 2019

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Effects of Political Polarization on Government Efficacy

Rutledge Building

This study examines the factor of governmental efficacy. In particular, it tests whether the political polarization that exists within a country has a negative or positive correlation with the efficiency and productivity of the government by analyzing a panel dataset consisting of 214 countries covering the years 1975 to 2012. The dependent variable, government efficacy, is measured by analyzing perceptions of public service, policy formulation/implementation, and government credibility. This measure uses percentile rank from 0 to 100, with 100 being the highest possible rank. The independent variable, political polarization, is measured by the maximum difference in political orientation among government parties and this measure ranges from 0 to 2 — 0 meaning no polarization and 2 meaning highly polarized. This study finds that the correlation between these two variables is 0.399, and therefore, we have failed to reject our null hypothesis that polarization has a negative impact on efficiency. The findings of this study may imply that there is a statistically significant positive correlation between political polarization and government efficiency; however, there are many potential confounders for which to control during further study.