The Effectiveness of Accountability in Improving the Quality of Governance in West Africa

Accountability mechanisms are often touted as a path to ‘good governance’, but have not always been a proven route to achieving the objectives associated with good governance: high levels of citizen participation, decreased corruption, and quality service delivery. Limited case studies have offered inconsistent evidence on the effectiveness of accountability mechanisms (Devas & Grant 2003; Charlick 2001; Blair 2000). But empirical evidence on the relationships between principles of good governance and accountability mechanisms is lacking. Having found evidence in Liberia that fiscal accountability mechanisms are not effective (Krawczyk, Muhula, & Sweet-Cushman, forthcoming), we extend our research to examine the effectiveness of accountability mechanisms in other countries in the West African region. Using Afrobarometer data, we empirically test the relationship between citizens’ perceptions of the effectiveness of accountability mechanisms, and citizens’ local political participation, perceptions of corruption, and perceptions of service delivery. This study contributes to multiple literatures, including accountability, corruption, and local political participation. We anticipate our results could significantly inform efforts to enhance principles of good governance in West Africa.