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Empirical linkages between good governance and national well-being

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  • Helliwell, John F.
  • Huang, Haifang
  • Grover, Shawn
  • Wang, Shun

Abstract

This paper brings together the largest available sets of national-level data, covering 157 countries over the years 2005–2012, to assess the extent to which governance quality contributes to life evaluations. Our most significant new finding is that changes in governance quality within a policy-relevant time horizon can lead to significant changes in the quality of life. For example, the ten most-improved countries, in terms of changes in government service delivery quality between 2005 and 2012, when compared to the ten most-worsened countries, are estimated to have average life evaluations higher by 0.4 points on a 0 to 10 scale. The results also confirm earlier findings that service delivery quality generally dominates democratic quality in supporting better lives until delivery quality has reached sufficient levels. The situation changes as development proceeds, with democratic quality showing a positive influence among countries that have already achieved higher quality of service delivery.

Suggested Citation

  • Helliwell, John F. & Huang, Haifang & Grover, Shawn & Wang, Shun, 2018. "Empirical linkages between good governance and national well-being," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(4), pages 1332-1346.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jcecon:v:46:y:2018:i:4:p:1332-1346
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jce.2018.01.004
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Subjective well-being; Happiness; Worldwide Governance Indicators; Democracy; Corruption; Government effectiveness; Gallup World Poll;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • P50 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Comparative Economic Systems - - - General

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