In all societies, the quality of government institutions is of the utmost importance for the well-being of its citizens. Problems like high infant mortality, lack of access to safe water, unhappiness and poverty are not primarily caused by a lack of technical equipment, effective medicines or other types of knowledge generated by the natural or engineering sciences. Instead, the critical problem is that the majority of the world s population live in societies that have dysfunctional government institutions. Central issues discussed in the book include: how can good government be conceptualized and measured, what are the effects of 'bad government' and how can the quality of government be improved? Good Government will prove invaluable for students in political science, public policy and public administration. Researchers in political science and the social sciences, as well as policy analysts working in government, international and independent policy organizations will also find plenty to interest them in this resourceful compendium. Contributors: E. Andersson, M. Bauhr, N. Charron, C. Dahlstrom, M.A. Fardigh, S. Holmberg, V. Lapuente, S.I. Lindberg, N. Nasiritousi, H. Oscarsson, A. Persson, B. Rothstein, M. Samanni, M. Sjostedt, H.O. Stensota, J. Teorell, L. Wangnerud
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In all societies, the quality of government institutions is of the utmost importance for the well-being of its citizens. Researchers in political science and the social sciences, as well as policy analysts working in government, international and independent policy organizations will also find plenty to interest them in this resourceful compendium.
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Contents:
Preface
1. Introduction: Political Science and the Importance of Good Government
Sören Holmberg and Bo Rothstein
PART I: WHAT IT IS
2. Defining and Measuring Quality of Government
Bo Rothstein and Jan Teorell
3. Public Administration Around the World
Carl Dahlström, Victor Lapuente and Jan Teorell
4. Need or Greed Corruption?
Monika Bauhr
5. Impartiality and the Need for a Public Ethics of Care
Helena Olofsdotter Stensöta
PART II: HOW TO GET IT
6. In Democracy We Trust, But How Much?
Nicholas Charron and Victor Lapuente
7. Press Freedom and Corruption
Mathias A. Färdigh, Emma Andersson and Henrik Oscarsson
8. Weberian Bureaucracy and Corruption Prevention
Carl Dahlström and Victor Lapuente
9. Do International Organizations Promote Quality of Government?
Monika Bauhr and Naghmeh Nasiritousi
10. State Legitimacy and the Corruptibility of Leaders
Anna Persson and Martin Sjöstedt
11. Legislators and Variation in Quality of Government
Staffan I. Lindberg
12. Why Women are Less Corrupt than Men
Lena Wängnerud
13. Rethinking the Nature of the Grabbing Hand
Anna Persson, Bo Rothstein and Jan Teorell
PART III: WHAT YOU GET
14. Part of the Solution
Sören Holmberg, Bo Rothstein and Jan Teorell
15. Access to Safe Water
Sören Holmberg and Bo Rothstein
16. Happiness
Marcus Samanni and Sören Holmberg
Index
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All too often today research in political science is irrelevant and uninspiring, shying away from the ''big'' questions that actually matter in people's lives. Good Government shows that this does not have to be the case. Tackling some of the ''biggest'' questions of the contemporary era - What is good government? Where does it come from? How can it be measured and how does it matter? - this book will prove invaluable to academics and policy makes alike. - Sheri Berman, Barnard College, US What is ''Good Government?'' Few doubt that it is better to have a ''good government'' than a ''bad'' one, but few of us have thought carefully about what makes for good government vs. bad. Soren Holmberg and Bo Rothstein's excellent volume helps fill in this gap. Though this book is more than this, but the focus on corruption is particularly fascinating. We know that corruption is ''bad'' but where does it come from? Why are some legislatures more corrupt than others? Why does the media sometimes collude? Why are women less easily corrupted than men? These are just a few of the many fascinating questions this volume explores. Bridging democratic theory, public policy and institutional analysis is one of the first that gives us some practical insight into the obviously important question: what makes some governments ''better'' than others? --- Sven Steinmo, European University Institute, Italy
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781781954126
Publisert
2014-01-31
Utgiver
Vendor
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd
Høyde
234 mm
Bredde
156 mm
Aldersnivå
UU, UP, P, 05, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Heftet
Antall sider
368