Identifier
etd-05082006-144610
Degree
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Political Science
Document Type
Thesis
Abstract
The scope of government spending has gained significant attention in comparative politics. Disaggregate level data has allowed researchers to examine the impact of electoral rules and party fragmentation on the nature of government spending. Findings supported by large-N empirical tests suggest that fragmented polities are more likely to observe a shift in government expenditures: away from expenditures on public goods and in the direction of transfers and subsidies. In this paper, I test the applicability of these findings to Latin America. Using empirical evidence based on 13 Latin American countries over a 17 year period, the findings of this paper suggest that the number of parties does not impact government spending in Latin America, mainly due to an ideological vacuum that is characteristic of most countries in the region.
Date
2006
Document Availability at the Time of Submission
Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.
Recommended Citation
Costa, Carlos Eduardo, "Government growth in Latin America" (2006). LSU Master's Theses. 1592.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/1592
Committee Chair
William Clark
DOI
10.31390/gradschool_theses.1592