Good Enough Governance Revised-Merilee S. Grindle

ByMd. Hedaietul Islam Mondol

GPP13, MPA 5th BatchCIVIL SERVICE COLLEGE, DHEKA

Review Presentation on

Info.author@article• This article is a part of Development Policy Review,

2007,25(5):553-574• Merilee S. Grindle is Edward S. Mason Professor of

International Development & Director, David Rockfeller Centre for Latin American Studies, Harvard University (merilee_grindle@harvard.edu)

• The author studies a huge number of books and write this article. (reference shown)

• Author first introduced the concept of good enough governance in a paper prepared for World Bank in 2002. for an analysis of the development of the concept of governance, see Hewitt de Alcantara (1998)

Some words@ article

• This concept provide a platform for institutional changes and capacity-building deemed important for development.

• What specifically, needs to be done in any real world context to move towards better governance in particular country context

• Feasibility of particular interventions can be assessed by analyzing for change and implications of the content of intervention being considered.

Introduction@article• Getting good governance calls for improvements

that touch virtually all aspects of public sector- for economic and political interaction, to decision making structures, manage administrative systems and deliver goods and services to citizen, staff government bureaucracies, to the interface of officials and citizens in political and bureaucratic arenas.

• Advocating good governance arises a host of questions about what needs to be done, when its need to be done, and how it needs to be done.

Contd.• Good enough governance, as a concept, suggests that not

at all governance deficits to (or can) be tackled at once, and that institutions and capacity-building are products of time.

• Good enough governance means that interventions thought to contribute to the ends of economic and political development need to be questioned, prioritized, and made relevant to the conditions of individual countries. They need to be assessed in the light of historical evidence, sequence, and timing, and they should be selected carefully in terms of their contributions to particular end such as poverty reduction and democracy.

• Good enough governance necessary to allow political and economic development to occur.

addresses@article

• The article addresses the gaps that exist between the general mandate to improve governance for development and the dilemmas facing development professionals designing specific intervention; concept and practice.

• The article includes a framework for assessing both contextual and content-related factors at the same time.

Thinking about good governance: dilemmas and debates

• The definition of governance to that good governance, normative views of what `ought to be’ become even more prominent. Yet definitions vary in the degree to which they imply particular policies or policy outcomes- stable macroeconomic policy, reduction of poverty, openness to trade, decentralization, or efficient revenue collection, or particular institutional forms and process- democracy, widespread participation in development decision making, or strong legislature. Moreover, it is often not clear how governance can be distinguished from development itself.

• What is the relationship between good governance, on the one hand, and economic and political development, on the other?

Definition @ governance & good governance

source What is governance? What is good governance?

World Bank

The process and institutions through which decisions are made and authority in a country is exercised.

voice and accountability , lack of violence, stability; regulatory framework, government effectiveness, respect for institution, control of corruption, rule of law

UNDP Exercise of economic, political and administrative authority to manage a country`s affairs at all levels. It comprises the mechanisms, processes, & institutions through which citizens & groups articulate their interests, exercise legal rights, meet obligations and mediate their differences.

Characterized as participatory, transparent… accountable..effective and equitable… promotes the rule of law..ensure that political, social and economic priorities are based on broad consensus in society and that voice s of the poorest and the most vulnerable are heard in decision-making over the allocation of development resources

Contd..

IMF Limited to economic aspects of governance… improving the management of public resources; supporting development and maintenance of a transparent and stable economic and regulatory environment conducive to efficient private sector activities.

Ensuring the rule of law, improving the efficiency and accountability of the public sector, and tackling corruption.

DFID How the institutions, rules and systems of the state – the executive, legislature, judiciary and military- operate at central and local level and how the state relates to individual citizens, civil society and the private sector.

Seven key governance capabilities: to operate political systems which provide opportunities for all people….to influence government policy and practice; to provide macroeconomic stability..to promote the growth necessary to reduce poverty; to implement pro-poor policy; to guarantee the equitable and universal provision of effective basic services; ensure personal safety and security… to manage national security arrangement accountably; to develop honest and accountable government.

Cont.USAID The ability of government to

develop an efficient, effective and accountable public management process that is open to citizen participation and that strengthens rather than weakens a democratic system of government.

Democratic governance,: transparency, participation, representation, accountability; focusing on: legislative strengthening, decentralization and democratic local governance, anti-corruption, civil-military relations and improving policy implementation.

Hyden et al.

The formation and stewardship of the formal and informal rules that regulate the public realm, the arena in which state as well as economic and societal actors interact to make decisions.

Can be measured in 5 dimension (participation, fairness, decency, efficiency, accountability, & transparency) in six arenas (civil society, political society, government, bureaucracy, economic society, judiciary)

Kauf-mann

Exercise of authority-1) process of selecting, monitoring & replacing govt., 2)capacity to formulate and implement sound policies & deliver public services; 3) respect of citizens , govern economic & social interactions among them

Measured along 6 dimensions- voice & external accountability; political stability & lack of violence, crime and terrorism; government effectiveness; lack of regulatory burden; rule of law; control of corruption.

cont

Hewitt de Alcanatara

Exercise of authority within a given sphere…. Efficient management of a broad range of organizations and activities… involves building consensus, or obtaining the consent or acquiescence necessary to carry out a program, in an arena where many different interests are at play.

Process through which there is incorporation of more creative and less technical understanding of reform, more dialogue about institutional and programmatic change, more concern with the public sphere (state and civil society) and how to strengthen it, more integration of economic policy and institutional reform, more attention to both national and international factors that affect governance.

Large-N cross national research• Large-N studies tend to find consistent correlations between

development & good governance.• In general regressional analyses of cross country data indicate

significant correlations, confirming the following high-order generalization:

1. Institutional development contributes to growth and growth contributes to institutional development (Chong & Calderon, Levin)

2. Institutional efficiency reduces poverty (Chong & Calderon)3. Weberian characteristics of public bureaucracies are strongly

associated with growth (Evans & Rauch)4. Growth & investment are increased in the presence of institutions

to protect property right (Knack & Keefer) 5. Government credibility contributes to investment and growth

(Brunetti et al) cont.

Cont`d

6. Aid assists growth in contexts in which there is good economic management (Burnside & Dollar)

7. Unstable political contexts are associated with lower levels of investment (Barro)

8. Corruption is associated with ineffective government and low growth (Friedman et al)

9. Fiscal decentralization is positively correlated with good governance (Huther & Shah)

10. Good governance makes development possible (Kaufmann & Kraay)

11. Good governance is crucial for successful development as measured by high per capita income. Per capita income is a strong predictor of poverty rates, infant mortality & illiteracy, suggesting that good governance improves the well-being of the poor. (World Bank review)

A case study

• China & Vietnam are frequent examples of countries that have made major gains in economic development and poverty reduction in the presence of many characteristic of bad governance among which insecure property rights and contracts are particular apparent (Quian)

From ambiguity to practice• Development practice is increasingly sensitive to the content

of governance programs- often overlooked in academic research and official discourse- focusing on the varying requirements for implementing different kind of interventions. More attention needs to be given to the issue of which reforms are practicable and important in particular contexts.

• (Government intervention ) some tools acknowledge the importance of beginning where the country is and taking seriously the need to asses priorities and capabilities of different countries; they also require serious efforts to understand the organizational, behavioral, and time dimensions of particular interventions.

Assessing the context for interventions: what is there to build

on?• Interventions that are appropriate for specific

situations can be more easily identified. Two analytical frameworks are helpful in this regard: one that focuses on assessing the strengths and weaknesses of states and one that provides insight into the sources of change that might exist in particular environments.

• Institutions are political, taxation, police, public service reforms etc.

Typology of political systems, regimes & capacities

Type of political systems

characteristics Institutional stability of the state

Organizational capacity of the state

Degree of state legitimacy

Types of policies in place

Collapsed state (Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan)

No effective central government

Extremely low. No effective rules

Extremely low. Difficult to identify capacity to produce results

Low to non-existent. Those who wield power r outside the state

No policies

Personal rule (Guinea, Libya, Turkmenistan)

Rule through personalities; political parties based on personal

Depend on personal control of power; conflict who controls the state

Low. Respond to personal & shifting priorities of powerful elites.

Low. Who has right to use power; power is used for personal wealth creation.

Policies r unstable; few public service are provided

Minimally institutionalized states (Kenya, Paraguay, Indonesia)

An unstable mixture of personal & impersonal rule with legitimacy. Parties are based partly on personalities.

Basic rules are established in law & practice; although function poorly & intermittently.

Low/modest. Some organization that’s are able to carry out responsibilities on a sustained basis.

Low/modest. Conflict over right to wield power persists in absence of consensus about institutions for resolving conflict.

organizations to provide a range of basic public & welfare services; coverage is patchy and often based on patronage.

Typology of political systems, regimes & capacities

Type of political systems

characteristics Institutional stability of the state

Organizational capacity of the state

Degree of state legitimacy

Types of policies in place

Institutionalized non-competitive states (North Korea, Vietnam, China)

Rule through stable & legitimate organizations & procedures: no open competition for power, political parties serve the regime & controlled by it.

Clear rules & generally orderly processes of decision-making & public management ; centralized & authoritarian practices.

Modest. Many organization carry out routine activities on a sustained basis.

Modest. Day-to-day legitimacy to carry on activities, but often in the presence of major questioning of roots of legitimacy not based on consent.

A wide range of basic and welfare services may be provided, but citizens have little influence over the range & type of provision.

Institutionalized competitive states (South Africa, India, Chile)

Rule through stable & legitimate organization; open competition for power through parties

Rules widely recognized as legitimate & no significant change; conflict resolved through appeal to the rules.

High. Organizations challenged to improve performance on a sustained basis.

High. Legitimacy to make decisions & wield power persists in which there is disagreement on decisions on the use of power

A wide range of basic & welfare services. The range & type of provision are major themes in politics

Is there a hierarchy of governance priorities?

Is there a hierarchy of governance priorities?

Note: P= priority

The World Bank`s Criteria for Country Policy & Institutional Assessment

A. Economic Management1. Macroeconomic management2. Fiscal policy3. Debt policy

B. Structural policies4. Trade 5. Financial sector6. Business regulatory environment

C. Policies for social inclusion/equity7. Gender equality8. Equity of public resource use9. Building human resource10. Social protection and labour11. Policies and institutions for

environmental sustainability

D. public-sector management & institution12. Poverty rights and rule-based governance13. Quality of budgetary and financial management14. Efficiency of revenue mobilization 15. Quality of public administration16. Transparency, accountability and corruption in the public sector

Ease/difficulty of governance interventions (Example: police professionalization in country X as part of rule of law governance reform)

Is there room for manoeuvre in the process of change?

• Literature that focuses on reform episodes strongly suggests that this is a fundamental characteristic of successful efforts at change – even, for example, in rebuilding collapsed states – and that little can be achieved in its absence.

• For reforms leader and their supporters• Context and content• Practitioners and activities• Choice & policies• Investment of time & resources

Conclusion: expectation about improving governance

• Development researchers remain far from a consensus on the relationship between development & good governance, and they continue to disagree on issues related to methodology and inference. Governance is often seen to be essential to and causal of development. Others move past the causal and inferential debates to demonstrate that governance challenges are exacerbated by factors such as HIV/AIDS and donor dependence.

• cont

Cont`d

• Good governance can not be very reassuring to those who have to develop priorities about what should be done in practice and how scare resources- of funds, organizational capacity, human skill knowledge, leadership- should be allocated.

• The current good governance agenda is additive rather than analytic (author`s suggested). As a consequence , development practitioners- whether development advisers, leaders of NGOs, or government officials- continue to confront long lists of `things that must be done’ to achieve good governance. Practitioners can increase the capacity to make decisions about `what to do’ in particular countries.

• Analyses suggest a difficult but inescapable conclusion: the more improved governance is needed, the more difficult it is to achieve good enough governance.

• The task of research and practice is to find opportunities, shorts of a magic bullets, for moving in a positive direction, yet recognizing that this is not always possible.

Thank You