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The State of State Capacity : a review of concepts, evidence and measures

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  • Cingolani L

    (UNU-MERIT)

Abstract

This working paper is part of the research programme on Institutions, Governance and Longterm Economic Growth, a partnership between the French Development Agency AFD and the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance Maastricht University UNUMerit. The research builds on the Institutional Profiles Database IPD, jointly developed by AFD and the French Ministry of the Economy since 2001.What is state capacity and how does it affect development The concept of state capacity acquired centrality during the late seventies and eighties, sponsored by a rather compact set of scholarly works. It later permeated through several disciplines and has now earned a place within the many governance dimensions affecting economic performance. The present article aims to provide a historical account of the evolution and usage of the state capacity concept, along with its various operationalizations. It examines in particular a the growing distance in the usage of the concept by different disciplinary and thematic fields; b the process of branching out of the concept from restricted to more multidimensional definitions; c the problems with construct validity and concept stretching, and d the generalized lack of clarity that exists regarding the institutional sources of state capacity.

Suggested Citation

  • Cingolani L, 2013. "The State of State Capacity : a review of concepts, evidence and measures," MERIT Working Papers 2013-053, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    • Handle: RePEc:unm:unumer:2013053
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    File URL: https://www.merit.unu.edu/publications/wppdf/2013/wp2013-053.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Cingolani, Luciana & Thomsson, Kaj & de Crombrugghe, Denis, 2015. "Minding Weber More Than Ever? The Impacts of State Capacity and Bureaucratic Autonomy on Development Goals," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 191-207.
    4. María Franco Chuaire & Carlos Scartascini & Mariano Tommasi, 2017. "State capacity and the quality of policies. Revisiting the relationship between openness and government size," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 133-156, July.
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    7. Ines A. Ferreira, 2018. "An empirical analysis of state fragility and growth: The impact of state ineffectiveness and political violence," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2018-29, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    8. Flechtner, Svenja & Panther, Stephan, 2017. "Global and domestic inequalities and the political economy of the midde-income trap," Working Paper Series Ök-29, Cusanus Hochschule für Gesellschaftsgestaltung, Institut für Ökonomie.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption; Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Structure and Scope of Government; Taxation; Subsidies; Revenue;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • D74 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
    • H10 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - General
    • H20 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - General

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