Reform Capacity

Many people would argue that if we want effective government, we need to concentrate power. Unless we put in place electoral procedures that identify a clear winner in each election, and then let the winner govern, until the next election, governments will be paralyzed by conflicts between different parties. This book argues that this view is mistaken, since it seriously underestimates the ability of political decision makers to overcome democratic paralysis by compensating losers (groups that stand to lose from a reform). It is therefore entirely possible for power-sharing systems to have high reform capacity. In fact, if political decision makers are able to solve the bargaining problems that sometimes complicate negotiations between political parties, power-sharing systems have certain advantages over power-concentration systems, particularly in societies where interest groups are powerful enough to block reforms, and especially when governments consider reforms that have short-term costs and long-term benefits.