SEMINAR SERIES
Asian Economic Development Seminar
Claudio Ferraz（Professor,University of British Columbia）
- Date&Time:
- 2026.4.23(Thu.) 16:45-18:15
- Venue:
- Refresh Room on 8F, Faculty of Law and Faculty of Economics, East Bldg, Yoshida Campus, Kyoto University
- Language:
- English
- Contact:
- Hisaki Kono
"When Democracy Refuses to Die: Evaluating a Training Program for New Politicians"
Abstract: We evaluate the effects of a program in Brazil that selects and trains new politicians, addressing three main challenges: selection bias from program screening, self-selection into candidacy, and the need to quantify the contributions of both selection and training in a holistic evaluation. Our findings show that the program raised political entry by doubling candidacy rates and increasing electoral success by 69%. However, much of the overall effect was driven by screening, which accounted for 30% of the increase in candidacy and 43% of the increase in election rates, while also making the candidate pool more diverse, competent, and committed to democratic values. Renewing the political class involves trade-offs, as some traits favored by the program did not align with voter preferences, and also reduced the descriptive representation of low-income individuals.