Discussions of governance in development typically confuse inputs and outcomes. The outcome of “poor governance” has two very distinct underlying causes. One is genuinely “corrupt” leadership where political power is held by larcenous or brutal leaders. The state may be run for the personal plunder of a narrow elite, or a particular interest group or ethnic group. In some of the worst cases this corruption becomes endemic over many years. These are the cases where there is no will of the leadership to achieve broad-based development goals, and there is little hope for major reductions in poverty.
The second cause, at the other end of the spectrum, is governance that is weak not because of the ill will of the leaders, but because the state lacks the financial resources and technical capacity to manage an efficient public administration. Many of the world's poorest countries lie closer to this second category, where governments lack the resources to run the public sector effectively. The key in such cases is to invest in improving governance. The following areas should be targeted:
- Promoting the rule of law. Legal and administrative systems require a properly resourced and adequately staffed legislature, judiciary, and executive branch of government.
- Promoting political and social rights. The Goals reflect human rights norms, which can be supported at the country level through a human rights assessment that checks MDG-based strategies for their national commitments to human rights principles.
- Promoting accountable and efficient public administration. Better governance depends on the systems of political and bureaucratic accountability, transparency, and participation, especially by poor people.
- Promoting sound economic policies. Government actions—such as macroeconomic management, proper investments in infrastructure, and -corruption-free delivery of public services—are key to private sector development, as outlined in the report of the Commission on Private Sector and Development and World Development Report 2005 .
- Supporting civil society. Governments have a special responsibility to provide civil society with the political freedom to express its views, a policy voice to participate in the planning and review and of MDG-based strategies, and institutional space to support the implementation of public investment strategies.
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