A research note on accountability and institutional clarity: how two dimensions of clarity of responsibility moderate accountability mechanisms

Studies of economic voting have demonstrated that the relationship between citizens’ satisfaction with the economy and their support for government parties is conditional on the so-called ‘institutional clarity of responsibility’ of a country. So far, scholars have predominantly focused on power diffusion within a single level of government to study the role of (horizontal) institutional clarity. Yet, countries also differ substantially in the extent to which power is diffused between government levels. In this article, we argue that this vertical dimension of power diffusion can be expected to be an equally strong moderator of accountability mechanisms. Our findings show that performance-based support for governing parties is conditioned by both the horizontal and vertical diffusion of government power within a country and that the moderating influence of power diffusion on electoral accountability varies per policy area.