Question

Is is good to have political competition? ​

Answer 1

Yes, it is good to have political competition. A political competition may have many limitations such as it can results in factionalism, disunity and use of dirty tricks to win elections. However, free competitions in elections works better in a longer run.

Answer 2

causality runs from political competition to growth by showing that in South Africa, voting patterns are largely driven by race and ethnicity. I strengthen this argument by using race and ethnicity backed voting patterns in 1994 as an instrument for voting patterns in 1999. Finally I use individual level surveys to show that political competition in municipalities is associated with dissatisfaction with the current democracy and government as well as lower optimism about the future.