Quality of Government: Toward a More Complex Definition

Abstract

C oncepts such as "quality of government" and "good governance" refer to a desired character of the exercise of public authority. Recently the interest in good governance, the quality of government, and similar concepts has increased considerably. However, despite this increasing interest and use, an adequate definition of the concept of quality of government has proved difficult to find. This article criticizes recent attempts at such a definition and proposes an alternative, more complex definition that includes moral content and also encompasses a plurality of values and virtues at its core. An acceptable definition of the quality of governance must be consistent with the demands of a public ethos, the virtues of good decision making and reason giving, the rule of law, efficiency, stability, and a principle of beneficence. The article describes these components in detail and the relations among them. Marcus Agnafors is a Postdoctoral Researcher at

Governing criminal markets: The role of private insurers in kidnap for ransom

“…"Good" or "effective" governance requires that each component is satisfied at least at some threshold level (Agnafors, 2013;Salter, 1999Salter, , 2001. Scholars generally identify different "dimensions," "domains," or "components" of governance.…”

Ocena jakości rządu i dostarczania wybranych dóbr publicznych w Polsce w ujęciu regionalnym

“…Jakość rządu odnosi się do pożądanego charakteru sprawowania władzy publicznej (Agnafors, 2013). Początkowo wraz z innymi koncepcjami (dobre rządzenie oraz sprawność państwa) zostały wykorzystane do oceny krajów rozwijających się przez Międzynarodowy Fundusz Walutowy, Bank Światowy czy Organizację Narodów Zjednoczonych.…”

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“…These notions refer to the desired effect of exercising public authority (Agnafors, 2013) and were initially applied in the assessment of those countries by international institutions. Currently they are used to evaluate the power exercised in all the countries, including developed ones, and to assess the quality of government at the regional level.…”