The table above lists the characteristics of each country during the time each of these oil spills took place. While understanding the characteristics of these countries during the oil spills was important, understanding how each of these characteristics affected the response differently, was the goal of this research project. The rest of this section is served to look at each of the how each of the four independent variable (Democracy, GDP, Institutional Gridlock, and Corruption) influenced the dependent variable (Fast/Slow government response) for each outcome.
Democracy
After looking at all four cases, my hypothesis was not supported. After reviewing each of the cases, the United States should have cleaned up the oil spill fastest. Yet, …show more content…
In the case of the United States, we observed that during the Deepwater Horizon Spill the United States was Democratic. A contributing factor to the slow response time for the oil spill disaster, was that the United States was a democracy. While democracies have been regarded to as the favorable form of government in the west, in this situation, it actually negatively impacted the response efforts of the government in regards to the oil spill. The dictionary definition of democracy according to the dictionary, is a system of government in which the citizens exercise power directly or elect representatives from among themselves to form a governing body, such as congress. While this ensures that the views of the American people are being implemented into government, while this does to help in many instances, it can also lead to complications, as was the case in regards in to BP oil spill. According to multiple reports (CSB, Berkley), one issue that arose during the cleanup efforts was the difference in viewpoints across the two parties. During the cleanup efforts Republicans argued that due to loose regulations, BP should not be …show more content…
While it took nine months for Pemex, to completely stop the leak, Mexico’s government enacted quickly, which ensured that the 3.3 million barrels of released oil was controlled and cleaned rather quickly. The Economist intelligence unit index rated Mexico as a flawed democracy. Citing government corruption, unfair elections, and the power struggle between the government and cartels as reasons for this rating. While this index reports these characteristics for its rating, the Mexican government was led by Jose Lopez Portillo who was head of Mexico from 1976-1982. President Portillo won the 1976 general election, as he was the only candidate to run. When Ixtoc I well exploded, in the West the Mexican government reacted quickly to the incident, notifying the United States of the immediate danger presented in the Gulf of Mexico (Tomasek 1981). While no cap was placed over the leaking cell for just over nine months, the Mexican government ensured that they protected Mexican coastlines as well as the Gulf of Mexico to the south in the recovery of the linking oil. President Portillo as well as the Mexican government directed resources towards one of two different plans. The first plan was to ensure the cleanup of coastal regions along Mexico (Tomasek 1981). The remaining resources were ordered to surround the Ixtoc
Democracy
After looking at all four cases, my hypothesis was not supported. After reviewing each of the cases, the United States should have cleaned up the oil spill fastest. Yet, …show more content…
In the case of the United States, we observed that during the Deepwater Horizon Spill the United States was Democratic. A contributing factor to the slow response time for the oil spill disaster, was that the United States was a democracy. While democracies have been regarded to as the favorable form of government in the west, in this situation, it actually negatively impacted the response efforts of the government in regards to the oil spill. The dictionary definition of democracy according to the dictionary, is a system of government in which the citizens exercise power directly or elect representatives from among themselves to form a governing body, such as congress. While this ensures that the views of the American people are being implemented into government, while this does to help in many instances, it can also lead to complications, as was the case in regards in to BP oil spill. According to multiple reports (CSB, Berkley), one issue that arose during the cleanup efforts was the difference in viewpoints across the two parties. During the cleanup efforts Republicans argued that due to loose regulations, BP should not be …show more content…
While it took nine months for Pemex, to completely stop the leak, Mexico’s government enacted quickly, which ensured that the 3.3 million barrels of released oil was controlled and cleaned rather quickly. The Economist intelligence unit index rated Mexico as a flawed democracy. Citing government corruption, unfair elections, and the power struggle between the government and cartels as reasons for this rating. While this index reports these characteristics for its rating, the Mexican government was led by Jose Lopez Portillo who was head of Mexico from 1976-1982. President Portillo won the 1976 general election, as he was the only candidate to run. When Ixtoc I well exploded, in the West the Mexican government reacted quickly to the incident, notifying the United States of the immediate danger presented in the Gulf of Mexico (Tomasek 1981). While no cap was placed over the leaking cell for just over nine months, the Mexican government ensured that they protected Mexican coastlines as well as the Gulf of Mexico to the south in the recovery of the linking oil. President Portillo as well as the Mexican government directed resources towards one of two different plans. The first plan was to ensure the cleanup of coastal regions along Mexico (Tomasek 1981). The remaining resources were ordered to surround the Ixtoc