This article sets out to investigate whether ethnic favouritism has an effect on the distribution of the public goods in Sub-Saharan Africa and if the onset of democracy decreases this behaviour.
The article address the concepts of ethnic favouritism, described as ‘a situation where co-ethics benefit from patronage and public policy decisions and thus receive a disproportionate share of public resources, when members of their ethnic group control the government’ (Miguel, Morjaria and Miquel, 2014). It lays out this concept clearly and explains that it emerges when weak political institutions are in place (Miguel, Morjaria and Miquel, 2014). It also addresses the notion that different political regimes, either autocratic or democratic, have a significant impact on the degree of ethnic favouritism in practice.
The article focuses on three different presidential reigns. President Kenyatta, of Kikuyu ethnicity, President Moi, of Kalenjin ethnicity and…show more content… Miquel, Gugerty, (2004) notes the problem of ethnic favoritism in distribution of public goods. Exploring the ethnic diversity and public good expenditure, it notes that regions with vast diversity amongst ethnicities receive less public goods expenditure than the regions where ethnicities are more concentrated. This would reiterate the hypotheses of co-ethnic favoritism in regions where the Presidents’ ethnicity was primarily concentrated.
Throughout the article, the main concepts and hypothesis have been clearly proven with clear evidence. There is a wide range of data supporting the two hypotheses. A wide range of alternative explanations for the failure to reject was explored, and disproved using testing. This gave a concrete explanation into the distribution of road expenditure in