What is quality of government? A theory of impartial government institutions

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Rothstein, Bo; Teorell, Jan
• 署名单位: University of Gothenburg; Lund University
• 刊物名称: GOVERNANCE-AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF POLICY ADMINISTRATION AND INSTITUTIONS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0952-1895
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0491.2008.00391.x
• 发表日期: 2008
• 关键词: economic-growth; DEMOCRACY; CORRUPTION; RULE; LAW; RIGHTS; PEACE

摘要

The recent growth in research on good governance and the quality of government institutions has been propelled by empirical findings that show that such institutions may hold the key to understanding economic growth and social welfare in developing and transition countries. We argue, however, that a key issue has not been addressed, namely, what quality of government (QoG) actually means at the conceptual level. Based on analyses of political theory, we propose a more coherent and specific definition of QoG: the impartiality of institutions that exercise government authority. We relate the idea of impartiality to a series of criticisms stemming from the fields of public administration, public choice, multiculturalism, and feminism. To place the theory of impartiality in a larger context, we then contrast its scope and meaning with that of a threefold set of competing concepts of quality of government: democracy, the rule of law, and efficiency/effectiveness.