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
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.
