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The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of non-voters in elections in Africa and Latin America. We were looking to assess the factors that influence voting behavior and the decision to abstain. Further, we measured the impact of the voting motives on government performance and their influence on the policy making process. To carry out the analysis, we used voter survey data. The main contribution of this work was the inclusion of Abstention. Another innovative aspect was the design and implementation of a political experiment. It consisted in the delivery of information about the performance of the incumbent, to see changes in voter behavior. To this end, we estimated latent class and nested multinomial logit models. We concluded that a factor considered by voters to either vote or abstain, is their level of satisfaction with the president. Also, less informed people seem to be less motivated to vote. In addition, the non-policy component is always the most relevant, implying that governments are not accountable towards voters. However, some minority groups choose more policy oriented, which means that they could have more influence in the policy making process. Further, we observed that those who do not support the incumbent hold it more accountable. Thus, if governments fail to achieve their goals, these voters are more likely to abstain or choose an opposition party. Moreover, abstainers and non-government voters have a higher political weight. This implies, that they could put pressure on the governments to choose and implement better policies. We also demonstrated that, voter behavior can be influenced by means of information signals. Although the impact on party choice was not very strong, the relative importance of the voting components changed significantly. Finally, the opposition parties are perceived to be closer to the optimal policy positions, which gives an incentive to the ruling parties to change their policy positions.

A major part of the animal products are based on the grasslands, due to the fact that the grassland ecosystems can be found all over the globe. In places where economical and successful crop production cannot be realized, the grassland based animal husbandry can be an efficient way of food production. In addition these ecosystems have an important role in carbon sequestration, and with their rich flora – and the fauna connected to it – in conservation of biodiversity. The protection of nature, and the sustainable agriculture is getting more and more attention in the European Union, but looking at the consumers' needs, the production of healthy food cannot be neglected either. Because of these facts, the effects of two specific composts - which are officially authorized in organic farming, in Agri-environment Schemes and Natura 2000 programs – on grass yields and sward compositions were investigated in a field trial. The investigation took place in Hungary, on a natural grassland based on solonetz soil. The first type of compost was a natural one (N) without any additional material and the other one was enriched in phosphorus (E). Both was produced by the research institute, made of sheep manure. Three rates of compost (10 t ha-1, 20 t ha-1,30 t ha-1) were tested on 3 m×10 m experimental plots. Every treatments had four replications and both type of compost had four-four control plots too, this way 32 experimental plots were included in the investigations. The yield of the pasture was harvested two-times (in May and in September) and before cutting the plots measurements on botanical compositions were made. Samples for laboratory analysis were also taken. Dry matter yield and crude protein content was measured in laboratory and with the received data the yield per unit area was calculated. Based on the research results we can say that the application of compost in any dose inflicts higher dry material and crude protein yield. The changes were partly due to some positive changes in sward composition, because of the better nutrient conditions. The research results indicate, that use of organic compost can be an efficient way to increase grass yields in a sustainable way.

PurposeThe emergence of Governance practices in the non-governmental organisation (NGO) sector has become associated with increasingly high levels of organisational complexity. In the light of an expanding civil society sector in Chile and the emergence of formalised governance practices, this paper explores the construction of the Executive Director role in Chilean NGOs with reference to organisational functions, organisational dynamics, and external influences.Design/methodology/approachGrounded theory is used to explore qualitative data derived from a set of N = 39 interviews conducted in Chile These interviews involve NGO founders, funders, Executive Directors, scholars, consultants, and team members.FindingsThe findings reveal the pivotal role played by Executive Directors in conducting organisational activities which, in other types of organisations, are often distributed across various organisational functions. The data also highlight complex dynamics involving overt compliance with external regulatory requirements, uncertainties about financial sustainability, the recruitment of Executive Board members, the exercise of power by Executive Directors, and the influence of founders in leadership configurations.Research limitations/implicationsThe implications of the study are discussed in relation to the governance and accountability of NGOs, the nature of the Executive Director role, the purpose of Executive Boards in the NGO sector, and the recruitment and training of Board members. It is noted that the study was conducted in the NGO sector in Chile; further research is necessary to establish the generalisability of the findings to other contexts.Originality/valueThis paper addresses the shortage of organisational research on NGOs. It contributes by offering analytical perspectives on organisational processes of Leadership and Governance. This paper highlights the relationship between, and interdependency of, those processes.

Abstract In this paper we examine the effectiveness of growth management policies in Wisconsin cities, villages, and towns. Unlike most other studies, we consider the impact of growth management policies on agriculture, specifically the preservation of farmland, in addition to population growth. Our analysis examines these relationships separately in towns and in cities/villages because of differences in their institutional structures. We mailed a survey to every city, village, and town in Wisconsin; the surveys were supplemented by data collected from several secondary sources. For both towns and cities/villages, growth management policies are related positively to the rate of population growth. The fiscal structure of localities proved to have a stronger effect on population growth for cities and villages than for towns. Growth management capacity had little effect for either type of municipality. The analysis of farmland preservation suggests that exclusive agriculture zoning is marginally effective in limiting farmland conversion in towns, but ineffective in cities/villages.

Examines the relationship between fiscal stress & municipal policy toward growth in WI cities, villages, & towns, drawing on data from two 1998 surveys. Cities & villages tended to exert greater growth management effort than did towns, as measured by policies adopted. Findings provide some support for the argument that cities & villages view growth differently than do towns, which see growth as largely beneficial. To the extent that growth leads to marginal increases in overall costs, cities & villages appear more willing & able than towns to exact influence through greater growth management effort. 3 Tables, 45 References. Adapted from the source document.

In democratic systems, elections are considered a mechanism to ensure that efficient policies seeking the wellbeing of the population are implemented by the government, although the reality often reflects the opposite. Governments usually act inefficiently due to problems of government performance such as capture and low accountability. In the African continent, the republic of Senegal is considered an example of a stable democracy. Electoral processes in the country have been considered relatively fair. However, the decline in the voter turnout over the past elections suggests that the party system is failing to engage voters. This study assesses influencing factors both in voting behavior in Senegal and in the decision to abstain. We estimated nested multinomial logit models including the alternative Abstention to determine the importance of the non-voters group in the policy making process. We found that even though people in general make their decision more non-policy oriented, abstainers, compared to those who cast a vote, tend to choose more retrospectively oriented and less policy and nonpolicy oriented. Furthermore, our findings show that this group of non-voters hold the government more accountable and have a higher political weight for the incumbent party. Thus, they could incentive the government to choose and implement more efficient policies. [.]

Electoral competition is considered a control mechanism to guarantee a good performance of the government. However, in real life it often leads to a distorted policy implementation due to Government Capture and low Government Accountability. Therefore, the analysis of voter behavior is a key factor to understand government performance. More specifically, if voters choose more policy and retrospectively oriented, the government has greater incentives to implement efficient policies. In this sense, if voters have more information on politics, they are more likely to base their decision on policy issues. To assess changes in voter behavior, we carried out a political experiment, where information about the performance of the Senegalese government was delivered to a randomly selected group of voters. Then, based on election surveys data collected before and after the information signal, a probabilistic voter model with latent class using a panel data set was developed. Additionally, to evaluate changes in the relative importance of the three voting motives (policy, non-policy and retrospective), marginal effects and relative marginal effects were estimated. As expected, after the information signal, the relative importance of the policy and the retrospective components increased significantly. [.]

Electoral competition is a democratic mechanism to guarantee high governmental performance. In reality, however, it often leads to policy failure due to Government Capture and Government Accountability. An understanding of both phenomena has to be based on voter theory and nowadays the probabilistic voter model is the workhorse model applied in voter studies. In this paper we first proceeded to derive a theoretical model to estimate voter behavior including three voting motives: non-policy oriented, policy oriented and retrospective oriented. Then, we derived government performance indicators to estimate Capture and Accountability based on marginal effects and relative importance of the three components. Subsequently, we tested our theory estimating a probabilistic voter model for Ghana using own election survey data. In particular, we calculated different mixed logit model specifications and, to allow heterogeneity, we followed the latent class approach. Using the results of the estimations, we were able to calculate marginal effects and relative importance of each voting motive and we found that the non-policy component is the most important whereas the retrospective component is the less relevant. Finally, the government performance indicators were estimated and they suggest that, although the political weights are unequally distributed in Ghana, the government is partially accountable towards the voter and elections provide an effective mechanism to promote democracy.

Examines whether racial & ethnic groups vary in their job-search strategies & whether the effects of job-search strategies vary for racial & ethnic groups, using data from the Multi-City Study of Urban Inequality, which includes a random sample of households in Atlanta ([GA] N = 1,528), Boston ([MA] N = 1,820), & Los Angeles ([CA] N = approximately 4,000). Findings indicate that Hispanics rely much more heavily on informal search strategies, but these lead to lower-paying jobs. Relying on a friend or relative to locate a job is especially detrimental for Hispanics. Using a multiplex tie (ie, a person who is a friend or relative, a coworker, & a neighbor) leads to lower-paying jobs for blacks & higher-paying jobs for whites. Results suggest that a better understanding of racial & ethnic differences in search strategy results may require a more detailed examination of racial & ethnic differences in the kinds of jobs produced by informal searches & the types of employers more likely to use word-of-mouth recruitment. 6 Tables, 25 References. Adapted from the source document.

Even in countries with well functioning democracies, not all people with the right to vote in a presidential election decide to cast a vote. In order to study the importance of abstention in presidential elections in Africa and Latin America, data from Senegal and Honduras was analyzed. These countries have experienced a decline in the voter turnout over the past elections, which means that the party systems are somehow failing to engage voters in recent years. The purpose of this paper is to understand how people choose a certain party or candidate, as well as, how they decide to either vote or abstain. Moreover, we are looking to determine whether non-voters could motivate the governments to design and implement efficient policies. To achieve this, we estimated nested multinomial logit models including the alternative Abstention. Then, to evaluate government performance, we derived indicators for accountability and capture. Also, to determine the optimal policy positions for the governmental parties, First Order Condition (FOC) and Second Order Condition (SOC) were estimated for different issues.