Chiefs: Economic development and elite control of civil society in Sierra Leone. Journal of Political Economy 122, no. 2 (2014): 319-368.

This article explores how chiefs exercise their political and economic power and whether they are accountable to their communities. The study asserts that the chieftaincy system in Sierra Leone is interwoven and complex. For example, paramount chiefs are elected, and candidates would have had to satisfy a long line of ruling families to be elected. The authors argue that the number of ruling families that put forward candidates for chieftaincy positions is a measure of political competition and a form of constraint on the power of paramount chiefs. Because of this, chiefs who are less constrained face greater political competition from other ruling families. This leads to worse development outcomes because chiefs have more freedom to engage in economically undesirable activities through the control of land, taxation and the judicial system. Chieftaincies with fewer ruling families have greater levels of bonding and bridging social capital leading to better accountability and better development outcomes.