Democracy at Work: Pathways to Well-Being in Brazil
Cambridge University Press, 11/28/2019
EAN 9781108493147, ISBN10: 1108493149
Hardcover, 370 pages, 23.4 x 16.5 x 2.3 cm
Language: English
One of the greatest challenges in the twenty-first century is to address large, deep, and historic deficits in human development. Democracy at Work explores a crucial question: how does democracy, with all of its messy, contested, and, time-consuming features, advance well-being and improve citizens' lives? Professors Brian Wampler, Natasha Borges Sugiyama, and Michael Touchton argue that differences in the local robustness of three democratic pathways - participatory institutions, rights-based social programs, and inclusive state capacity - best explain the variation in how democratic governments improve well-being. Using novel data from Brazil and innovative analytic techniques, the authors show that participatory institutions permit citizens to express voice and exercise vote, inclusive social programs promote citizenship rights and access to public resources, and more capable local states use public resources according to democratic principles of rights protections and equal access. The analysis uncovers how democracy works to advance capabilities related to poverty, health, women's empowerment, and education.
Introduction
1. Democracy at work
2. Building pathways for change
3. Research design, methods, and variables
4. Reducing poverty
broadening access to income
5. Improving health
saving lives
6. Empowering women
saving mothers and enhancing opportunities
7. Educating society
promoting public education and learning
8. Pathways at work
lessons from Brazil's poor Northeast
Conclusion
how democracy improves well-being.