Learning accountability: Can formal education help hold politicians to account?

Inequalities in government responsiveness to citizens can harm opportunities for socioeconomic advancement among the poor, especially in developing contexts. However, education may serve as a key driver of political accountability, both by increasing participation among disadvantaged populations, and by increasing the likelihood that voters sanction politicians upon receiving information about incumbent performance. To assess these claims, Abhit Bhandari, Horacio Larreguy, and John Marshall are conducting a panel survey in Senegal around the July 2017 national legislative elections. They will nest two sources of exogenous variation quasi-experimental variation in access to free secondary schooling following a substantial increase in school construction after the 2002 abolishment of fees for lower secondary education, and experimental variation in the pre-election provision of legislator performance information. Such variation causally identifies the effects of access to secondary education, information, and their interaction on political participation and electoral accountability. The surveys also explore the mechanisms underpinning these effects, and thus speak to the broader question of when and how education stimulates the civic and political participation required to support democratic representation. We believe that this study will illuminate the extent to which education can make democracy work for citizens through greater political accountability.,