Brief 71: Regular and sustained information on incumbent performance improves electoral accountability

Figure 1: Example of a Scorecard provided to voters
Figure 2: Likelihood of incumbent re-election

[1] See EGAP’s Metaketa I project for a further discussion, summarized at Dunning et al. (2019). “Voter information campaigns and political accountability: Cumulative findings from a preregistered meta-analysis of coordinated trials.” Science Advances, 5(7). 
[2] See Platas, Melina and Pia Raffler (2019). “Meet the Candidates: Field Experimental Evidence on Learning from Politician Debates in Uganda” in Dunning, Grossman, Humphreys, Hyde, McIntosh, and Nellis (eds.). Information, Accountability, and Cumulative Learning. Lessons from Metaketa I. Cambridge University Press.
[3] Other studies, mostly observational, find that richer media is associated with more accountability, and a couple experimental studies that utilize dissemination via local news papers. For succinct review on the nexus of information and electoral accountability, see International Growth Centre, Brief Series 022 (2019), by Grossman, Humphreys, and Mueller.