Context and Research Design
This study examines clientelistic politics in two post-communist countries, Hungary and Romania. Chapter 3 presents descriptive information on the recent evolution of party systems in both countries and the changes in patterns of political competition in recent elections. It examines the most significant policies that provide opportunities for clientelistic manipulation of state resources. In both countries, the main social policy programs that can be subjected to political manipulation are workfare programs. The chapter discusses the main political considerations leading to the adoption of workfare programs characterized by high discretion of mayors over the allocation of policy benefits. It also describes how a mixed methods research design was crafted to study behavior that candidates, brokers, and voters often prefer to hide.