POLA02H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Big Questions, Consensus Decision-Making, Path Dependence
Document Summary
Judge was receiving huge payments in return for incarcerating teenagers in a particular set of jails/treatment programs. Example of a state official using the post for his (or her) own personal benefit, contrary to the interests of the citizenry. Corruption can lead to having no money for starving individuals: such as thousands of kenyan kids going hungry due to the lack of money. The government, or more broadly the state, plays a big role in our lives. Institutions organize political life in ways that affect how politics are conducted and what policy outcomes result. Challenge is to construct institutions where the people who hold power use that power for the benefit of the citizens and themselves rather than just themselves at a loss to citizens. Some places, these institutions fail routinely and spectacularly. A variety of ways power can be abused.
