Search

Objective: This article examines to what extent the image that individuals have about past authoritarian regimes affects citizens' support for contemporary democracies. Methods: Drawing on the 2010 Latinobarómetro survey, we test whether the "deviation in evaluations" (i.e., the difference between the individuals' evaluation of the present country economic situation and the individuals' evaluation of the last authoritarian regime) affect support for democracy in Latin America. Results: We found that as the assessment of the last authoritarian government outperforms that of the present country economy, individuals are less likely to support democracy, and this effect is stronger for old people. Conclusion: This finding reveals important challenges for democratic consolidation: emerging democracies do not only have to display a good economic performance by themselves, but they also must prove to be better than previous authoritarian regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss literature and empirical evidence on regulatory independence especially in telecommunications and to suggest reforms of this institution.Design/methodology/approach – The paper comprises a survey of the literature plus new empirical evidence on de facto independence.Findings – The study finds that independence has a positive and significant, but modest, impact on network penetration, once de facto issues and endogeneity are taken into account.Research limitations/implications – De facto independence can only be superficially approached with quantitative methods and the instruments used to correct for endogeneity are far from perfect.Practical implications – Regulatory agencies may find ways to improve their effectiveness.Social implications – The paper provides ideas on how to solve the dilemma between expertise and accountability in the particular field of telecommunications regulation.Originality/value – The paper provides data about the vulnerability of independent regulation in telecommunications in Latin America until 2010. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]