Democracy at Work: Pathways to Well-Being in Brazil

One of the greatest challenges in the twenty-first century is to address large, deep, and historic deficits in human development. Democracy at Work explores a crucial question: how does democracy, with all of its messy, contested, and, time-consuming features, advance well-being and improve citizens' lives? Professors Brian Wampler, Natasha Borges Sugiyama, and Michael Touchton argue that differences in the local robustness of three democratic pathways - participatory institutions, rights-based social programs, and inclusive state capacity - best explain the variation in how democratic governments improve well-being. Using novel data from Brazil and innovative analytic techniques, the authors show that participatory institutions permit citizens to express voice and exercise vote, inclusive social programs promote citizenship rights and access to public resources, and more capable local states use public resources according to democratic principles of rights protections and equal access. The analysis uncovers how democracy works to advance capabilities related to poverty, health, women's empowerment, and education.

Brian Wampler is Professor of Political Science at Boise State University, Idaho. He is the author of Activating Democracy in Brazil: Popular Participation, Social Justice, and Interlocking Institutions (2015), and Participatory Budgeting in Brazil: Contestation, Cooperation and Accountability (2007).

Natasha Borges Sugiyama Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. She is the author of Diffusion of Good Government: Social Sector Reforms in Brazil (2012).

Michael Touchton is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Miami. He is the co-author of Salvaging Communities: How American Cities Rebuild Closed Military Bases (Forthcoming) with Amanda Johnson.