The Political Economy of Good Governance


Book Description

A notable group of social scientists explore the political economy of good governance and how it relates to performance management, the influence of political parties, education and health issues in developing countries, the economic performance of transition economies, and the effects of climate on poverty.




PEFA, Public Financial Management, and Good Governance


Book Description

This project, based on the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) data set, researched how PEFA can be used to shape policy development in public financial management (PFM) and other major relevant policy areas such as anticorruption, revenue mobilization, political economy analysis, and fragile states. The report explores what shapes the PFM system in low- and middle-income countries by examining the relationship between political institutions and the quality of the PFM system. Although the report finds some evidence that multiple political parties in control of the legislature is associated with better PFM performance, the report finds the need to further refine and test the theories on the relationship between political institutions and PFM. The report addresses the question of the outcomes of PFM systems, distinguishing between fragile and nonfragile states. It finds that better PFM performance is associated with more reliable budgets in terms of expenditure composition in fragile states, but not aggregate budget credibility. Moreover, in contrast to existing studies, it finds no evidence that PFM quality matters for deficit and debt ratios, irrespective of whether a country is fragile or not. The report also explores the relationship between perceptions of corruption and PFM performance. It finds strong evidence of a relationship between better PFM performance and improvements in perceptions of corruption. It also finds that PFM reforms associated with better controls have a stronger relationship with improvements in perceptions of corruption compared to PFM reforms associated with more transparency. The last chapter looks at the relationship between PEFA indicators for revenue administration and domestic resource mobilization. It focuses on the credible use of penalties for noncompliance as a proxy for the type of political commitment required to improve tax performance. The analysis shows that countries that credibly enforce penalties for noncompliance collect more taxes on average.




The Role of Public Administration in Alleviating Poverty and Improving Governance


Book Description

This publication is the first of a series from The Network of Asia-Pacific Schools and Institutes of Public Administration and Governance (NAPSIPAG), a network of professionals formed to encourage the continuing development of public administration theory and practice through research and other initiatives, and foster cooperation and collaboration between and among the members in pursuit of related and common interests.




Empowering the Poor


Book Description

Poverty reduction has become a key international development priority in recent years. This publication examines some of the most important current conceptual frameworks and initiatives related to poverty reduction and identifies approaches taken by major international and bilateral organisations. It goes on to explore the conceptual dimensions of poverty and local governance, and the comparative advantages of decentralised governance in tackling poverty. It argues that greater involvement of local populations in decision-making processes may contribute to significant poverty reduction.




Democratic Republic of the Congo


Book Description

This Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper on the Democratic Republic of Congo discusses economic policies and development. The macroeconomic and budget framework has been developed to take into account the effects of sectoral policies to maintain macroeconomic stability, a necessary condition for laying the foundation of economic growth and poverty reduction. It is based on the profile of public spending, the assessment of costs for achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2020, and the sector-based economic growth theories taking into account the uncertainties of the international environment and the real potential of the Congolese economy. It is found that it allows for a realistic programming of public spending while highlighting the main budgetary choices proposed by the government.




The Political Logic of Poverty Relief


Book Description

The Political Logic of Poverty Relief places electoral politics and institutional design at the core of poverty alleviation. The authors develop a theory with applications to Mexico about how elections shape social programs aimed at aiding the poor. They also assess whether voters reward politicians for targeted poverty alleviation programs.




African Politics in Comparative Perspective


Book Description

This revised and expanded second edition of African Politics in Comparative Perspective reviews fifty years of research on politics in Africa and addresses some issues in a new light, keeping in mind the changes in Africa since the first edition was written in 2004. The book synthesizes insights from different scholarly approaches and offers an original interpretation of the knowledge accumulated in the field. Goran Hyden discusses how research on African politics relates to the study of politics in other regions and mainstream theories in comparative politics. He focuses on such key issues as why politics trumps economics, rule is personal, state is weak and policies are made with a communal rather than an individual lens. The book also discusses why in the light of these conditions agriculture is problematic, gender contested, ethnicity manipulated and relations with Western powers a matter of defiance.




Leave No One Behind


Book Description

The ambitious 15-year agenda known as the Sustainable Development Goals, adopted in 2015 by all members of the United Nations, contains a pledge that “no one will be left behind.” This book aims to translate that bold global commitment into an action-oriented mindset, focused on supporting specific people in specific places who are facing specific problems. In this volume, experts from Japan, the United States, Canada, and other countries address a range of challenges faced by people across the globe, including women and girls, smallholder farmers, migrants, and those living in extreme poverty. These are many of the people whose lives are at the heart of the aspirations embedded in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. They are the people most in need of such essentials as health care, quality education, decent work, affordable energy, and a clean environment. This book is the result of a collaboration between the Japan International Cooperation Research Institute and the Global Economy and Development program at Brookings. It offers practical ideas for transforming “leave no one behind” from a slogan into effective actions which, if implemented, will make it possible to reach the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. In addition to policymakers in the field of sustainable development, this book will be of interest to academics, activists, and leaders of international organizations and civil society groups who work every day to promote inclusive economic and social progress.




Public Administration and Democratic Governance


Book Description

Strengthening trust, accountability, and participation in government are essential to serving the needs of citizens. This volume brings together concepts and ideas from around the world on how to achieve more responsive and accountable public administration within the framework of democratic governance. Public officials and administrators are provided with conceptual and policy tools to help them understand today's complex challenges, and to pursue ideas that are most likely to enhance service delivery from the citizen's perspective. The publication is one of the analytical products emerging from the Global Forum on Reinventing Government.




Scarcity, Conflicts, and Cooperation


Book Description

This wide-ranging review of some of the major issues in development economics focuses on the role of economic and political institutions. Drawing on the latest findings in institutional economics and political economy, Pranab Bardhan, a leader in the field of development economics, offers a relatively nontechnical discussion of current thinking on these issues from the viewpoint of poor countries, synthesizing recent research and reflecting on where we stand today. The institutional framework of an economy defines and constrains the opportunities of individuals, determines the business climate, and shapes the incentives and organizations for collective action on the part of communities; Pranab Bardhan finds the institutional framework to be relatively weak in many poor countries. Institutional failures, weak accountability mechanisms, and missed opportunities for cooperative problem-solving become the themes of the book, with the role of distributive conflicts in the persistence of dysfunctional institutions as a common thread. Special issues taken up include the institutions for securing property rights and resolving coordination failures; the structural basis of power; commitment devices and political accountability; the complex relationship between democracy and poverty (with examples from India, where both have been durable); decentralization and devolution of power; persistence of corruption; ethnic conflicts; and impediments to collective action. Formal models are largely avoided, except in two chapters where Bardhan briefly introduces new models to elucidate currently under-researched areas. Other chapters review existing models, emphasizing the essential ideas rather than the formal details. Thus the book will be valuable not only for economists but also for social scientists and policymakers.