Mobile phone users as pseudo-brokers in clientelism: evidence from Africa

Despite a vast literature on clientelism, the impact of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) on clientelistic exchanges remains understudied. In order to fill that gap, we examine whether politicians disproportionately direct private transfers to mobile phone users, who can easily share p...

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Main Authors: Chang, Han Il, Lee, Su-Hyun
其他作者: S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
格式: Journal Article
语言:English
出版: 2022
主题:
在线阅读:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/160348
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author Chang, Han Il
Lee, Su-Hyun
author2 S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
author_facet S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Chang, Han Il
Lee, Su-Hyun
author_sort Chang, Han Il
collection NTU
description Despite a vast literature on clientelism, the impact of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) on clientelistic exchanges remains understudied. In order to fill that gap, we examine whether politicians disproportionately direct private transfers to mobile phone users, who can easily share persuasive messages with their communication partners and thus provide cascading benefits. Analyzing data from the fifth wave of the Afrobarometer survey, we find that mobile phone users are indeed more likely to be targeted and that their chances of being targeted decrease as their feeling of being monitored rises. In addition, the attractiveness of mobile phone users is salient only in urban areas, and mobile phone users are more likely to persuade others to vote for a certain politician upon receiving private transfers. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings regarding the existence of pseudo-brokers and the impact of ICT on the quality of democracy.
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spelling ntu-10356/1603482023-07-26T07:23:20Z Mobile phone users as pseudo-brokers in clientelism: evidence from Africa Chang, Han Il Lee, Su-Hyun S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies Social sciences::Political science Clientelism Information and Communications Technology Despite a vast literature on clientelism, the impact of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) on clientelistic exchanges remains understudied. In order to fill that gap, we examine whether politicians disproportionately direct private transfers to mobile phone users, who can easily share persuasive messages with their communication partners and thus provide cascading benefits. Analyzing data from the fifth wave of the Afrobarometer survey, we find that mobile phone users are indeed more likely to be targeted and that their chances of being targeted decrease as their feeling of being monitored rises. In addition, the attractiveness of mobile phone users is salient only in urban areas, and mobile phone users are more likely to persuade others to vote for a certain politician upon receiving private transfers. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings regarding the existence of pseudo-brokers and the impact of ICT on the quality of democracy. 2022-07-19T08:26:23Z 2022-07-19T08:26:23Z 2021 Journal Article Chang, H. I. & Lee, S. (2021). Mobile phone users as pseudo-brokers in clientelism: evidence from Africa. The Social Science Journal, 1-27. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03623319.2020.1851011 0362-3319 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/160348 10.1080/03623319.2020.1851011 2-s2.0-85101151257 1 27 en The Social Science Journal © 2021 Western Social Science Association. All rights reserved.
spellingShingle Social sciences::Political science
Clientelism
Information and Communications Technology
Chang, Han Il
Lee, Su-Hyun
Mobile phone users as pseudo-brokers in clientelism: evidence from Africa
title Mobile phone users as pseudo-brokers in clientelism: evidence from Africa
title_full Mobile phone users as pseudo-brokers in clientelism: evidence from Africa
title_fullStr Mobile phone users as pseudo-brokers in clientelism: evidence from Africa
title_full_unstemmed Mobile phone users as pseudo-brokers in clientelism: evidence from Africa
title_short Mobile phone users as pseudo-brokers in clientelism: evidence from Africa
title_sort mobile phone users as pseudo brokers in clientelism evidence from africa
topic Social sciences::Political science
Clientelism
Information and Communications Technology
url https://hdl.handle.net/10356/160348
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