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Progress in measuring governance is assessed using a simple framework that distinguishes between indicators that measure formal rules and indicators that measure the practical application or outcomes of these rules. The analysis calls attention to the strengths and weaknesses of both types of indicators as well as the complementarities between them. It distinguishes between the views of experts and the results of surveys and assesses the merits of aggregate as opposed to individual governance indicators. Some simple principles are identified to guide the use and refinement of existing governance indicators and the development of future indicators. These include transparently disclosing and accounting for the margins of error in all indicators, drawing from a diversity of indicators and exploiting complementarities among them, submitting all indicators to rigorous public and academic scrutiny, and being realistic in expectations of future indicators.

This article summarizes progress made in a World Bank initiative funded by the UK Department for International Development to test and develop policy-relevant,politically acceptable, quantitative indicators of governance. There are two majorprinciples involved in the process of generating indicators that are useful for practical reforms. Political acceptability is key in developing neutral quantitative benchmarks of good governance that can be embraced by reformers. Measures should also be institutionally specific so that reformers know which institutions to reform and how to do so. This article explores some of the most promising second-generation indicators of good governance and elaborates on how they are being used in World Bank operations.

The objective of this paper is to test the hypotheses that Governance in small states differs from that of larger countries and that this conclusion can be applied to high-income as well as low-income small states. The paper utilizes three international indicators of governance, namely the Worldwide Governance Indicators, the Corruption Perception Index and the Legal System and Property Rights Index (one of the indices of the Economic Freedom of the World Indicators). These particular three indices were used because they cover a large number of countries, including many small states. This subject is important due to the fact that a fifth of politically independent states are small ones, with a population of 2 million or less. Many of these states are also islands, located in the Caribbean region, the South Pacific and the Indian Ocean. Six of the 28 member states of the European Union are such small states. In addition, the small island states located in the Pacific and Indian Ocean have vast Exclusive Economic Zones under their jurisdiction. The manner in which these states are governed is therefore of utmost importance for global governance. This paper consists of five sections. Following this introduction, Section 2 presents a brief literature review. Section 3 describes the methodology to be used for deriving the results presented in Section 4. The final chapter discusses some implications of the results. ; peer-reviewed

AbstractThe Berggruen Governance Index (BGI) is a new and innovative entry into the crowded domain of quantitative governance research. In its effort to contribute to the field, the BGI builds off of and acts in dialogue with several other governance indicator projects from across the globe. As part of a collaborative outlook, the BGI convened the first of three symposia at the UCLA Luskin School in October 2022, titled 'Advancing Governance Indicator Systems: The 2022 Conference'. The event invited representatives from other indicator projects to share their thoughts on the BGI, present their own projects and discuss avenues for further research and development of 'planetary' indicators. This article discusses the highlights and key contributions from the conference.

This country report is part of the Sustainable Governance Indicators 2014 project. ; Portugal has been a consolidated democracy since the mid-1980s. Elections are free and fair, political rights are protected both de jure and de facto, there is media pluralism and freedom and the judicial system is independent. The legal basis and practical functioning of the democratic system are evident. However, while the formal aspects of Portugal's democracy are not in question, there is substantial and growing public dissatisfaction with its performance. Portugal also falls short in terms of sustainable policy performance and of governance capacity.