Good Governance and Development

Good Governance and Development is a work by Mehdi Maghderi that scrutinizes Daniel Kaufmann’s views and findings on governance. Researchers, policymakers, donors, and recipients in the charity sector acknowledge the importance of good governance for development. This has sparked intense interest in more precise, subtle, and policy-relevant governance indicators. In the book, Mehdi Maghderi reviews the progress made in governance assessment to date using a simple analytical framework focused on two key questions: (1) What do we measure? and (2) Whose opinions do we rely on? For the first question, the author distinguishes between indicators that assess formal rules in theory and those measuring the practical application or outcomes of those rules, noting the strengths and weaknesses of both types and their complements. For the second question, he differentiates between experts and survey respondents whose governance assessments are based on their perspectives, highlighting their respective advantages, disadvantages, and complementarities. Mehdi Maghderi also examines aggregate governance competence compared to individual governance indicators, drawing upon Daniel Kaufmann’s views and findings. He concludes with simple principles to guide and refine existing governance indicators and develop future ones, emphasizing the need for transparent disclosure and calculation of margin of error in all indicators. This book helps readers utilize the diversity of indicators, leverage their complementarities, and subject all to rigorous public and academic scrutiny.