The Book

1
The Book

• Goran Hyden, Julius Court and Kenneth Mease,
  Making Sense of Governance Empirical Evidence
  from 16 Developing Countries (2004, Lynne Rienner)

2
Rationale

• Limitations of studies on Democracy and
  Development
• The importance of politics and development
• Lack of analytical usage of governance
• Need for better ways of assessing / measuring
  governance

3
Key Questions

• In what ways and why does governance vary in
  countries around the world?
• What rules affecting governance matter most?
• When, why and how do these rules make a
  difference to the way a country develops?
• What deficiencies in political arrangements make
  conflict more likely?

4
Meaning of Governance

• WGS focuses on the national level.
• Consensus
• Nature of relations between state and society
• More than just government
• Process-oriented
• Result of human agency
• Definition - Governance refers to the formation
  and stewardship of the rules (formal and
  informal) that regulate the public realm, the
  arena in which state as well as economic and
  societal actors interact to make decisions.

5
Arenas of Governance
Civil Society the ways citizens raise and
become aware of political issues Political
Society the way interests in society are
aggregated in the political process Executive
government stewardship of the system as a whole
(by government) Bureaucracy the way policies
are implemented Economic Society the
relationship between the state and the
market Judiciary the way disputes are settled
6
Principles of Good Governance

• Participation involvement and ownership by
  stakeholders
• Fairness do rules apply equally to everyone in
  society
• Decency rules are implemented without harming
  people
• Accountability political actors are responsible
  for actions
• Transparency clarity and openness of
  decision-making
• Efficiency use of limited resources for greatest
  outputs.

NB there is no one list of principles
7
Analytical Framework
Governance Realm
Development
Determinants

• Arenas
• Civil
• Political Soc
• Executive
• Bureaucracy
• Economic Soc
• Judiciary

• Context
• History
• Political
• Economic
• Social
• International

• Outcomes
• Human Security
• Political Rights
• Economic Opps
• Social Caps
• Trust

8
Survey Instrument
Six Dimensions Socializing, Aggregating,
Executive, Managerial, Regulatory,
Adjudicatory Six Principles Participation,
Fairness, Transparency, Efficiency, Decency,
Accountability
Human Rights-Based Concept of Development
30 Pilot Indicators
9
Data Collection

• Approaches
• International Panels
• Public Opinion Surveys
• Focus Groups
• In-country Panel of Experts
• (In-country / Panel of International Experts)

22 Countries panel of 35-40 experts
questionnaire 30 questions (plus qualitative
views)
10
Pilot Countries

• Africa Nigeria, Tanzania, Togo
• Asia China, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Nepal,
  Pakistan, Philippines, PNG, Samoa, Thailand
• E. Europe and FSU Bulgaria, Russia, Kyrgyz
• Middle East Jordan
• Latin America Argentina, Chile, Barbados, Peru
• OECD Korea
• (51 of worlds population)
• (16 of 22 Pilot Countries in Book)

11
Data Analysis

• The WGA index was examined for reliability and
  validity.
• The reliability was measured by using Cronbachs
  Alpha with a score of over .90 for the 30 item
  index
• The WGA country scores were then compared with
  other measures of governance.
• It is possible to assess governance rigorously
  using panels of WIPs.

12
Book Outline

• Introduction
• Governance, Democracy Development
• Governance The Aggregate Picture
• Civil Society
• Political Society
• Executive
• Bureaucracy
• Judiciary
• Conclusions

13
WGA Governance Scores 1995 and 2000
14
Democracy and Governance

• Not all high-scoring governance countries are
  also the most democratic (Jordan).
• High governance scores are possible in poorer
  countries (democracy is not only route to
  legitimacy).
• It is a definite finding that governance is not
  only assessed in terms of regime quality but also
  regime stability.

15
Findings

• What we have are two distinct governance
  challenges. One deals with rule adherence, the
  other with rule design.
• In an era of liberalization and democratization,
  the issue of design or re-design may not be
  as acute as the issue of adherence
• The WGA can meaningfully identify the weak
  spots in the governance realm
• Civil Society, Government, and Economic Society
  have scores considerably above the other three.
  Political Society, Bureaucracy, and Judiciary
  stand out as the more problematic governance
  arenas.

16
Findings

• There can be very different ratings between
  arenas and within arenas be careful of
  aggregates.
• Reform takes a long time especially in
  bureaucracy and judicial arenas.
• Reform is political not just technical.

17
Critical Indicators
18
Conclusions

• Using a broader governance lens is helpful.
• It is possible to assess governance rigorously
  using panels of WIPs and it is helpful.
• We can identify weak spots in general and in a
  nuanced way.
• Perception of system legitimacy important, e.g.
  for decisions on whether to investment in a
  country.
• Poorer countries can have good governance.
• More work is needed on governance indicators.

19
Our Next Steps

• Round 2 Assessments
• Work again with in-country coordinators
• Revised Questionnaire
• Improved Approach
• Use of Online Tools
• Greater emphasis on capacity building
• Working with others (UNDP, GTZ, INWENT, DHF)

20
Thank you.

• Contacts
• Goran Hyden ghyden_at_operamail.com
• Julius Court jcourt_at_odi.org.uk