%0 Journal Article
%T Bridging the Participation Gap with Government-sponsored Neighborhood Development Programs: Can Civic Skills Be Taught? El Uso de Programas de Desarrollo Social para Fomentar el Civismo
%A Katsuo A. Nishikawa
%J Journal of Politics in Latin America
%D 2012
%I German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA)
%X I argue that innovative development programs that require citizen participation in the production of public goods can have unexpected bene-fits for individuals＊ dispositions toward democracy. In particular, I explore the effect of taking part in state-sponsored neighborhood development programs 每 direct-democracy type programs that require individuals to organize within their community as a precondition for state help 每 on participant dispositions toward democracy and willingness to take part in politics. To test this hypothesis, I use original survey data collected in the Mexican state of Baja California. To measure the effect of participation in neighborhood development programs, I conduct a quasi experiment via propensity score matching. I find robust evidence suggesting that participating in such programs correlates with higher levels of political participation, a better sense of community, more positive retrospective evaluations of the economy (according to both pocketbook and sociotropic measures), and overall higher support for the government. En este estudio, propongo que programas innovadores de desarrollo social que requieren de la participaci車n ciudadana para crear bienes p迆blicos pueden, inesperadamente, fomentar actitudes favorables para la democracia. Espec赤ficamente, analizo como las disposiciones democr芍ticas y el inter谷s por participar en la vida pol赤tica de sus comunidades cambia entre beneficiarios y no beneficiarios del programa. Dicho programa posee un estilo de democracia directa, en donde se requiere que los beneficiarios se organicen a nivel colonia como condici車n de implementaci車n del programa. Para probar esta hip車tesis, realic谷 una encuesta en el estado de Baja California, M谷xico. Para medir el efecto de participaci車n en programas de desarrollo social, hice uso del m谷todo estad赤stico conocido en ingl谷s como ※propensity score matching§ para llevar a cabo un cuasi experimento. Al final, encuentro que hay bastante evidencia de que el participar en este tipo de programas se correlaciona con mayores niveles de participaci車n pol赤tica, un sentir de mayor arraigo con la comunidad, una mayor evaluaci車n retrospectiva de la econom赤a, y un mayor apoyo hacia el gobierno.
%K Mexican Politics
%K Political Participation
%K Poverty
%K Democracy
%K Development Programs
%K Mexico
%K Political Participation
%K Development Programs
%K 300
%K 320
%K 321
%K Mexico
%K 2000-2012
%K Public Opinion
%K Ciencia Pol赤tica
%K M谷xico
%K participaci車n pol赤tica
%K programas de desarrollo social
%K M谷xico
%K 2000-2012
%U http://hup.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/jpla/article/view/540