Development Strategies : Integrating Governance and Growth

Levy, Brian ; Fukuyama, Francis

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: ABUSES;    ACCOUNTABILITY;    ACCOUNTING;    ADJUDICATION;    ADMINISTRATIVE CAPACITY;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-5196
RP-ID  :  WPS5196

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

A frontier challenge for developmentstrategy is to move beyond prescribing optimal economicpolicies, and instead -- taking a broad view of theinteractions between economic, political and socialconstraints and dynamics -- to identify entry points capableof breaking a low-growth logjam, and initiating a virtuousspiral of cumulative change. The paper lays out fourdistinctive sequences via which the different dimensionsmight interact and evolve over time, and providescountry-specific illustrations of each. Each sequence isdefined by the principal focus of its initial step: 1) Statecapacity building provides a platform for accelerated growthvia improved public sector performance and enhancedcredibility for investors; strengthened politicalinstitutions and civil society come onto the agenda onlyover the longer term; 2) Transformational governance has asits entry point the reshaping of a country's politicalinstitutions. Accelerated growth could follow, insofar asinstitutional changes enhance accountability, and reduce thepotential for arbitrary discretionary action -- and therebyshift expectations in a positive direction; 3) For'just enough governance', the initial focus is ongrowth itself, with the aim of addressing specific capacityand institutional constraints as and when they becomebinding -- not seeking to anticipate and address in advanceall possible institutional constraints; 4) Bottom-updevelopment engages civil society as an entry point forseeking stronger state capacity, lower corruption, betterpublic services, improvements in political institutions morebroadly -- and a subsequent unlocking of constraints ongrowth. The sequences should not be viewed as a technocratictoolkit from which a putative reformer is free to choose.Recognizing that choice is constrained by history, the paperconcludes by suggesting an approach for exploring what mightthe scope for identifying practical ways forward in specificcountry settings.