Ethnic Quotas, Political Representation and Equity in Asia Pacific

Sector-Switching, Bureaucratic Reputation, and Citizen Evaluation of Performance: Evidence From a Large-Scale Experiment in India

“…Although not entirely analogous given their varying starting points, such a shift can be compared to China's transformation from a largely agrarian economy to one characterized by an open market economy during the Deng Xiaoping era (Vogel, 2013) and the lifting of millions out of poverty (Ang, 2016). However, the extent of these similarities may end with the contrast between China's authoritarian regime and India's increasingly illiberal but nevertheless open democracy (Economist Intelligence Unit, 2020; Tan & Preece, 2021).…”

“…Another element of the Indian public sector is a preference for minority representation or direct quotas, which have appeared in ethnically diverse countries including South Africa, Pakistan, and Malaysia, among others (Fernandez, 2020; Lim, 2007; Tan & Preece, 2021), and to varying degrees of success and/or contention. For example, Fernandez (2020) finds evidence that representation of Blacks in the South African bureaucracy led to marked gains in public sector performance, while Lim (2007) argues that a preference for ethnic Malays has subdued the responsiveness and legitimacy of the bureaucracy altogether.…”

Reversing the Gaze: Can the EU Import Democracy from Others?

“…Power-sharing in Nepal helped the country deal with internal conflict and incrementally deepen democratic rights (Miklian, 2008). In Taiwan, a quota reserves government positions for Indigenous groups and this share of power is generally welcomed as having made democracy more inclusive and stable (Tan and Preece, 2021). Tunisia's power-sharing between Islamists and secularists, leftists, unions, business groups and civil society helped take democratization forward in its early stages after 2011.…”