Constituency Service in Ghana

Constituency service is an important duty for politicians. Numerous scholars argue that this duty is critical for reelection (Fiorina 1977, Fenno 1978). In the African context, constituency service is also important for both electoral and social reasons, but research on this topic primarily focuses on national legislators. Based on my fieldwork observations, I argue that citizens in sub–Saharan Africa often turn to local politicians for a variety of reasons. Drawing from a survey administered to 2809 Ghanaian cocoa farmers, I employ a non-parametric matching design to determine which factors drive these farmers to seek help from various local leaders. I find nuanced results across treatments spanning economic, political and demographic dimensions. The results of this research hold numerous implications for scholars and practitioners.