WORLD GOVERNANCE INDEX
- Produced by the World Bank, this index provides aggregate governance indicators for over 200 countries. It assesses six dimensions of governance: Voice and Accountability, Political Stability and Absence of Violence, Government Effectiveness, Regulatory Quality, Rule of Law, and Control of Corruption.
- This World Governance Index itself is a composite of several sub-indices, which are purely based on the subjective opinions of some so-called expert institutions which do not have presence on the ground nor do they understand whether the context in which they are making these judgements is appropriate or apt for the member countries
- But these indices become an important part of the assessment methodology of the credit rating agencies and they do not reveal the extent to which these indices are implanted in their assessment process, the weights they carry, because there seems to be qualitative overlays on top of qualitative assessments
- So, in other words the easiest way in which multilateral development banking system can help their member countries to access capital for global challenges and development needs is to ensure that their World Governance Index is transparent, less subjective and less arbitrary, more suited to the context, involves participation of developing countries, and also make sure that it’s limitations are very well understood by the credit rating agencies
The Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) are a set of six aggregate indicators developed by the World Bank to assess the quality of governance in countries. These indicators cover different aspects of governance and are used to analyze and compare governance performance across nations. The six indicators are:
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Voice and Accountability: This indicator measures the extent to which a country's citizens are able to participate in selecting their government, as well as freedom of expression, association, and the media.
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Political Stability and Absence of Violence/Terrorism: It assesses perceptions of the likelihood that the government will be destabilized or overthrown by unconstitutional or violent means, including terrorism.
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Government Effectiveness: This indicator evaluates the quality of public services, the capacity of the civil service, the government's credibility, and the implementation of policies.
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Regulatory Quality: It measures the ability of the government to formulate and implement sound policies and regulations that promote private sector development.
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Rule of Law: This indicator assesses the extent to which agents have confidence in and abide by the rules of society, including the quality of contract enforcement, property rights, the police, and the courts, as well as the likelihood of crime and violence.
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Control of Corruption: It measures perceptions of the extent to which public power is exercised for private gain, including both petty and grand forms of corruption, as well as "capture" of the state by elites and private interests.
