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The article explores the connections between the performance of the Czech regional governments, the economic development of the regions, & the level of social capital in the regions. Analyses suggest that there is no relationship between regional government performance & the economic performance of the regions, & no relationship between regional government performance & the level of social capital in the regions. Government performance does not appear to be dependent on either of these two factors. Some positive statistical relationships do exist between the level of social capital & the economic performance of the regions. This relationship is stronger when the dynamics of the changes are evaluated -- economic growth in the period between 1995 & 2004 was significantly higher in regions with a higher level of social capital. Analyses also revealed the strong effect of another factor -- the level of human capital as measured by the education of the population -- on all the other observed parameters of the regions. The regions with more educated inhabitants recorded more rapid economic growth, a higher level of social capital, & better performing governments.

The article presents an analysis of the performance of regional governments -- the institutions representing the self- governing regions in the Czech Republic. The authors try to answer the question of whether regional governments function similarly or whether they vary in terms of performance, & if they do vary, how structured & how large are these differences. After a review of the position occupied by the regions in the Czech public administration system, & after assessing the ways in which regional government performance can be understood & measured & the accessibility of necessary data, indicators are proposed & used to create an aggregate index of regional government performance. An analysis based on these indicators shows that there are considerable differences between regional governments in terms of the structure & the level of their performance. Based on the performance index it was possible to distinguish regions with above- average, average, & below- average regional government performance. The territorial distribution of these groups & some other factors confirm the validity of these measurements.