Here is the text of the Governance Matters' first post (published on May 22, 2008).
The past decade has witnessed a sea change in the public's awareness of governance issues. These were no longer seen through the prisms of ethics or politics: they became everybody’s business.
This explosion in interest has occured in both developed and developing countries. It has also permeated the donor community, including the World Bank – where, until the mid nineteen nineties, the subject was still officially taboo.
Since then, significant progress on governance has taken place in some countries and institutions, in contrast with others. Many aid agencies have integrated good governance and anti-corruption in their programs. Evidence was gathered, research was carried out, reforms were implemented, and some lessons were learnt -- yet many more remain to be learnt.
The governance puzzle is far from solved; many questions are waiting to be answered. Others are subject to ongoing debate. At the same time, the evidence increasingly points toward one basic finding: good governance does matter. It matters for development, for growth, and for poverty alleviation.
Yet this finding is only the beginning of a long quest for knowledge. We still need to learn whether governance matters more in particular countries or institutions, or whether it only matters in the longer term. Whether it influences other major determinants of development. Which concrete factors and measures account for improved governance and corruption control. Which practical measures work better than others. Why some countries and institutions have improved, others deteriorated, and others just stagnated. For instance, is developing stronger institutions to put some checks and balances on the executive more important than adopting anticorruption decrees and laws?
These questions are but a few of those researchers and practitioners are currently grappling with in many corners of the globe. They deserve to be shared and debated more widely.
Now just because governance matters for development does not mean that the developed world is ‘off the hook’. To the contrary. The developed world plays a key role in ensuring improving governance and development around the world – through sounder aid and trade policies, increased transparency in financial centers to address the challenge of stolen assets, and the like.
Voice and participation are key dimensions of good governance. What better tool then than a blog, this icon of the 21st century technological revolution, to effectively give voice in an open and interactive way? This blog aims at broadening voice, participation and open debate on governance and anticorruption around the world. It will share and discuss new research findings, share new data and knowledge, and seek to elici debates on unresolved issues, and share practices from the frontlines.
This blog is open to all, and it welcomes a wide variety of views and experiences, with the aim of pushing the frontiers of knowledge and debate on governance and development. You are all welcome to get involved.
Posted by Michel Lazare
