Using mixed methods design the authors investigate why democracy is not enough for the provision of basic public goods, such as access to clean water.
They find that only those democratic countries enjoy high water quality, where Quality of Government (QoG) is high. If QoG is low, democracies do no better than authoritarian regimes.
Interview data from a typical case of Moldova shows that democracy has a number of positive effects and incentivises politicians to focus on the visible aspects of water provision, including the expansion of the water pipe network.
High corruption, low bureaucratic capacity and a lack of rule of law, however, stimulate short time horizons, preventing long-term commitments, such as improving the quality of water that goes through these pipes. This leaves the fresh pipes with dirty water.
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