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The Worldwide Governance Indicators : Methodology and 2024 Update

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  • Kaufmann,Daniel
  • Kraay, Aart C.

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the data sources and aggregation methodology for the Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI). The WGI report six aggregate governance indicators measuring Voice and Accountability, Political Stability and Absence of Violence/Terrorism, Government Effectiveness, Regulatory Quality, Rule of Law, and Control of Corruption in a sample of 214 economies over the period 1996–2023. The aggregate indicators combine information from 35 different existing data sources, capturing subjective perceptions of the quality of various dimensions of governance reported by experts and survey respondents worldwide. The paper briefly discusses how to use reported margins of error when interpreting cross-country and over-time differences in the aggregate indicators. The paper also updates and extends earlier analysis on three key issues relating to the WGI methodology: (a) the effect of correlated perception errors, (b) the robustness of the aggregate indicators to alternative weighting schemes, and (c) the existence on trends in global averages of governance.

Suggested Citation

  • Kaufmann,Daniel & Kraay, Aart C., 2024. "The Worldwide Governance Indicators : Methodology and 2024 Update," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10952, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10952
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    File URL: https://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099005210162424110/pdf/IDU-7c6f0b9e-f0c2-4b1d-b30d-76c4644af69e.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Daniel Kaufmann & Aart Kraay, 2008. "Governance Indicators: Where Are We, Where Should We Be Going?," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 23(1), pages 1-30, January.
    2. Michael Carlos Best & Anne Brockmeyer & Henrik Jacobsen Kleven & Johannes Spinnewijn & Mazhar Waseem, 2015. "Production versus Revenue Efficiency with Limited Tax Capacity: Theory and Evidence from Pakistan," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 123(6), pages 1311-1355.
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    5. Cyril Chalendard & Ana M Fernandes & Gael Raballand & Bob Rijkers, 2023. "Corruption in Customs," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 138(1), pages 575-636.
    6. Jørgen Juel Andersen & Niels Johannesen & Bob Rijkers, 2022. "Elite Capture of Foreign Aid: Evidence from Offshore Bank Accounts," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 130(2), pages 388-425.
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