Good Governance as a Post-2015 Millennium Development Goal

Daniel F. Runde, Conor M. Savoy

The World Bank noted, in a 1989 report, that “underlying the litany of Africa’s development problems is a crisis of governance.” Although matters have improved since 1989, lower debt and more democracies for example, good governance is still elusive and a major impediment for greater development. This is equally true of other regions. Recognizing the importance of global governance to development, the High Development Panel appointed by the UN Secretary General to review the post-2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) recommended that a governance indicator be added to the new MDG framework. Since the world endorsed the MDGs in 2000 much progress has been made in reaching these 8 development goals. Half a billion fewer people live in poverty, four out of five children receive life-saving vaccinations, and deaths from malaria have decreased by 25 percent. Impressive to be sure, yet much of this progress is due to the growth in countries such as China, India, and Brazil. Persistent pockets of extreme poverty remain in low developed countries and regions. Ensuring that this is rectified, and existing success is sustained and developed, must be the primary objective of the post-2015 process.

In recent years, scholars have developed a significant body of evidence to support the notion that good governance leads to improved economic growth...

This article is originally published at CSIS web site. Read the full article here

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