Quality of governance and political support in China, Japan, and South Korea

2020 ◽  
pp. 002085232092147
Author(s):  
Yida Zhai

Based on the theoretical distinction between specific and diffuse support, this study examines and compares the effects of governance quality on political support in China, Japan, and South Korea. As regime type is an important contextual factor, the three countries provide ideal cases for testing how the effects of governance on political support vary across different political systems in East Asia. The results show that both economic and political governance affects specific support in the three countries. Political governance is more important for specific support in Japan and South Korea than in China, though regime type does not moderate the effect of political governance on diffuse support. In addition, economic governance is more important for diffuse support in China than in Japan and South Korea. In the field of specific support, economic governance is more important for support for government officials in Japan and South Korea than in China. Points for practitioners Public support is critical to a political system’s effectiveness, stability, and even survival. Quality of governance determines the fate of authoritarian regimes. It is because of bad governance that the masses cannot continue to tolerate the authorities and take actions to overthrow authoritarian leadership. Echoing Fukuyama’s (2013) argument that an authoritarian regime can be well governed, the Chinese government attempts to improve the quality of governance so as to sustain autocratic leadership by promoting technical innovation in administrative management. However, the intrinsic defects in authoritarian systems, such as the absence of constitutional constraints on power, undermine their capacity to improve political governance. It is questionable how much good political governance in an authoritarian system can achieve without democratic reform of the political system.

Author(s):  
Pedro C. Magalhães

This chapter investigates the impact of economic outcomes and quality of government on political support, arguing that the effect of economic performance is contingent on the quality of government. This hypothesis is derived from procedural fairness theories in organizational psychology according to which procedural fairness moderates the effects of outcome favorability on support for authorities. The chapter develops and tests the hypotheses that citizens’ political support is most affected by economic outcomes in those countries where the quality of government is lowest. In contrast, in contexts of high quality of government, political support is expected to be less sensitive to short-term economic fluctuations. Using ESS data and aggregate indicators of economic performance, the chapter finds that in countries where the quality of government is high, the impact of economic indicators is marginal, but where the quality of government is low, political support is quite sensitive to economic outcomes.


Author(s):  
Timothy Frye

This article discusses how research on the transformation of command economies has contributed to the broader literature in comparative politics. It depicts the great variation in economic reform across countries over the last fifteen years, and examines how the European Union (EU), quality of governance, regime type, and interest groups influenced economic reform. The article attempts to identify ways in which stronger causal links between middle-range factors and economic reform can be linked. Arguments criticizing middle-range theories due to lack of causal depth are reviewed as well. The article ends by presenting an attempt to combine temporally proximate and distant factors into an explanation for reform outcomes in the region. The argument is focused on the impact of executive partisanship, democratic institutions, and the relation of the Communist Party to national sovereignty before 1989.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-55
Author(s):  
Bartosz Czepil

The objective of this paper is an attempt to explain the determinants of the lowest governance quality level in one of the communes of the Opolskie Province, Poland. The first stage of the research consisted in developing a commune-level governance quality index in order to measure the quality of governance in the 60 communes of the Opolskie Province. Subsequently, the commune with the lowest score in the index was qualified for the second stage of the research which was based on the extreme case method. The major conclusion from the research is that the commune leader's governance style which allowed him to hold on to power for many terms of office was responsible for generating low governance quality. Furthermore, the low quality of governance was not only the effect of the governance style but also the strategy aimed at remaining in the commune leader office for many terms.


Author(s):  
Shaun Bowler

This chapter analyzes to what extent variation in political institutions affects political support. The chapter observes that the existing research is not always clear on which institutions should produce what kind of effect, although a general expectation is that institutional arrangements improve political support when they give citizens an increased sense of connection to the political process. In general then, we should expect institutions that strengthen the quality of representation to strengthen political support. This general expectation is specified in six hypotheses that are tested using data from the ESS 2012. The chapter demonstrates that electoral systems that provide voters with more choice about candidates, multiparty governments, and “responsive” legislatures, correlate positively with political support. However, compared to other macro-level factors and individual characteristics, the effects of political institutions on political support are modest. The chapter concludes that the prospects for institutional reform to strengthen political support are limited.


Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 141
Author(s):  
Hwee Wee ◽  
Gweon-Young Kang

Addiction is related to aggression and quality of life. This study examined the relationship between these three factors according to occupation group in a mixed urban/rural area to better understand adult addiction problems. This study was a secondary data analysis of cross-sectional data collected by a 2017 regional survey of adults living in Gunsan City, South Korea. The survey included 500 people split into the unemployed (Group1), full-time homemakers (Group2), and primary (Group3), secondary (Group4), and tertiary (Group5) industry workers. Addiction problems and aggression were positively correlated (p < 0.01). Aggression and alcohol use disorder were correlated in Group3 (r = 0.31), Group4 (r = 0.34), and Group5 (r = 0.32), and aggression and smartphone addiction were correlated in Group2 (r = 0.39) and Group4 (r = 0.31). Problem gambling was correlated with aggression in Group5 (r = 0.39). A negative relationship between quality of life and alcohol use disorder occurred in Group1 (r = −0.36). According to the occupation group, the relationships between addiction problems, aggression, and quality of life were different. These findings suggest that addiction management for adults should be implemented in consideration of occupation groups.


2021 ◽  
pp. 095968012110183
Author(s):  
Igor Guardiancich ◽  
Oscar Molina

We explore the factors behind the long-term erosion of National Social Dialogue Institutions (NSDIs) to provide insights about the conditions for their revitalization. By applying policy analysis insights into the industrial relations field, we argue that limited policy effectiveness goes a long way towards explaining the erosion experienced by many NSDIs worldwide in recent years. Drawing on a global survey and on case studies of NSDIs in Brazil, Italy and South Korea, we show that these institutions’ policy effectiveness crucially depends on combinations of their problem-solving capacity, an encompassing mandate to deal with relevant socioeconomic issues and an enabling environment that grants the inclusion of social dialogue into decision making. With regard to rekindling their role, the article provides substantial evidence that two sub-dimensions of effectiveness are key: enjoying political support and having an ‘effective mandate’ as opposed to relying on just a formal remit to deal with socioeconomic issues of interest.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Efstratia Arampatzi ◽  
Martijn J. Burger ◽  
Spyridon Stavropoulos ◽  
Frank G. van Oort

2020 ◽  
pp. 014459871990065 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simplice A Asongu ◽  
Nicholas M Odhiambo

This study assesses whether improving governance standards affects environmental quality in 44 countries in sub-Saharan Africa for the period 2000–2012. The empirical evidence is based on generalized method of moments. Bundled and unbundled governance dynamics are used, notably: (i) political governance (consisting of political stability and “voice and accountability”); (ii) economic governance (entailing government effectiveness and regulation quality), (iii) institutional governance (represented by the rule of law and corruption-control); and (iv) general governance (encompassing political, economic, and institutional governance dynamics). The following hypotheses are tested: (i) Hypothesis 1 ( improving political governance is negatively related to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions); (ii) Hypothesis 2 ( increasing economic governance is negatively related to CO2 emissions); and (iii) Hypothesis 3 ( enhancing institutional governance is negatively related to CO2 emissions). Results of the tested hypotheses show that the validity of Hypothesis 3 cannot be determined based on the results; Hypothesis 2 is not valid, while Hypothesis 1 is partially not valid. The main policy implication is that governance standards need to be further improved in order for government quality to generate the expected unfavorable effects on CO2 emissions.


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