Good Enough Governance

1
Good Enough Governance

• Merilee S. Grindle
• Kennedy School of Government
• Harvard University
• June 5, 2006

2
The Good Governance Paradigm

• A variety of reforms affecting
• Institutions that set the rules of the game
• Decision making structures
• Organizations that administer and deliver goods
  and services
• Human resources that staff government
• The interface of officials and citizens

3
The Good Governance Paradigm

• Good governance is important
• The good governance agenda is far too ambitious
• This agenda can be made more feasible

4
Good Government is Important

• Good governance is important to human welfare
  around the world
• But it is not necessarily the foundation on which
  all else must be built

5
The Good Governance Agenda Is Overwhelming

• Governments are being asked to do too much
• The list of things that must be done is growing
  longer

6
The Good Governance Agenda

• World Development
• Reports
• 1997
• 1998
• 1999/2000
• 2000/2001
• 2001/2002
• 2003/2003

• governance reforms
• recommended
• 45
• 75
• 66
• 106
• 100
• 116

7
Whats Wrong with the Good Governance Agenda?

• For any given country, there is likely to be
• A multitude of governance reforms
• Supported by a plethora of donors
• Without attention to
• Sequences
• Interdependence
• Relative importance
• Feasibility

8
The Good Governance Agenda Can Be Made More
Realistic

• A new objective
• Good enough governance

9
Good Enough GovernanceWhere to Start?

• Reformulate the agenda
• Research, paying attention to history
• Analysis, paying attention to country contexts
• Begin where the country is

10
Good Enough Governance Final Thoughts

• Good governance is a laudable goal
• Yet, for many countries, it is a distant goal
• It is important to find ways to reformulate the
  goal
• Roles for donors
• Governance cannot be left solely to governments