https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.2307%2F3343168.pdf

Development as Freedom

The growing technical uncertainties and complexities of problems of global concern have made international policy coordination not only increasingly necessary but also increasingly difficult. If decision makers are unfamiliar with the technical aspects of a specific problem, how do they define state interests and develop viable solutions? What factors shape their behavior? Under conditions of uncertainty, what are the origins of international institutions? And how can we best study the processes through which international policy coordination and order emerge? While a variety of analytic approaches have been used to address the problems of international cooperation, the approaches have yielded only fragmentary insights. At its core, the study of policy coordination among states involves arguments about determinism versus free will and about the ways in which the international system is maintained and transformed. Among the overlapping topics of debate are whether national behavior is determined or broadly conditioned by system-level factors, unit-level factors, or some complex interplay between the two; whether state policymakers can identify national interests and behave independently of pressures from the social groups they nominally represent; and whether states respond consistently to opportunities to create, defend, or expand their own wealth and power, to enhance collective material benefits, or to promote nonmaterial values.' A related question of

/pdf/introduction-epistemic-communities-and-international-policy-55mu65c5cp.pdf

Introduction: epistemic communities and international policy coordination

The East Asian miracle: Economic growth and public policy: By the World Bank. (New York: Oxford University Press for the World Bank, 1993. 389 pp. $19.95, paper.)

The authors argue that the concept of quality of government should be best understood as that of having impartial government institutions. This definition avoids functionalism, ignores the contents of specific policies in favor of the procedures for how they are implemented, and pertain to the output side of the political system. They discuss this concept in relation to several proposed alternative definitions.

Quality of Government

This review culls disparate elements from the theoretical and research literature on human migration to argue for the construction of a theory of migration that simultaneously incorporates multiple levels of analysis within a longitudinal perspective. A detailed review of interconnections among individual behavior household strategies community structures and national political economies indicates that inter-level and inter-temporal dependencies are inherent to the migration process and give it a strong internal momentum. The dynamic interplay between network growth and individual migration labor migration remittances and local income distributions all create powerful feedback mechanisms that lead to the cumulative causation of migration. These mechanisms are reinforced and shaped by macrolevel relationships within the larger political economy. (authors)

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/3644186.pdf

Social structure, household strategies, and the cumulative causation of migration.

The good governance agenda is unrealistically long and growing longer over time. Among the multitude of governance reforms that “must be done” to encourage development and reduce poverty, there is little guidance about what's essential and what's not, what should come first and what should follow, what can be achieved in the short term and what can only be achieved over the longer term, what is feasible and what is not. If more attention is given to sorting out these questions, “good enough governance” may become a more realistic goal for many countries faced with the goal of reducing poverty. Working toward good enough governance means accepting a more nuanced understanding of the evolution of institutions and government capabilities; being explicit about trade-offs and priorities in a world in which all good things cannot be pursued at once; learning about what's working rather than focusing solely on governance gaps; taking the role of government in poverty alleviation seriously; and grounding action in the contextual realities of each country.

Good Enough Governance: Poverty Reduction and Reform in Developing Countries

Information and Public ChoiceThe Political Economy of Democratic InstitutionsManaging Public ServicesMarkets, State, and People: Economics for Public PolicyKnowing PovertySmall Economies and Global EconomicsPublic Choices and Policy ChangeThe Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and SocietyThe Freedom to ReadThe Oxford Handbook of Public Choice, Volume 1Policy-making for Education Reform in Developing CountriesDemocracy in ChainsStudies in Public OpinionAffluence and InfluenceClimate Crisis and the Global Green New DealPublic PolicyPublic Choices & Policy Change: the Political EconomyBehavioral Science and Public PolicyFrom Macroeconomic Correction to Public Sector ReformComparing Public PoliciesDemocracy and Public Policy in the Post-COVID-19 WorldThe Oxford Handbook of Public ChoiceThe Oxford Handbook of Public ChoiceEvidence, Policy and PracticePublic PolicyDemocracy at RiskPoliticians and Economic Reform in New DemocraciesUnderstanding Environmental Policy ProcessesInheritance in Public PolicyHandbook of Public Policy AnalysisAsian Economic and Political IssuesIdeas and InstitutionsPublic Choices & Policy ChangeCommunities in ActionLobbying and Policy ChangeExit, Voice, and LoyaltyShutdownEscaping PaternalismA Unified Theory of Collective Action and Social ChangeDealing with Losers A powerful critique of nudge theory and the paternalist policies of behavioral economics, and an argument for a more inclusive form of rationality.The first book in a two-volume series designed to help those working, or preparing to work, as education change agents in developing countries, this volume will help change agents acquire a deeper, more comprehensive understanding of the policy process and how it can be influenced."This two-volume collection provides a comprehensive overview of the past seventy years of public choice research, written by experts in the fields surveyed. The individual chapters are more than simple surveys, but provide readers with both a sense of the progress made and puzzles that remain. Most are written with upper level undergraduate and graduate students in economics and political science in mind, but many are completely accessible to non-expert readers who are interested in Public Choice research. The two-volume set will be of broad interest to social scientists, policy analysts, and historians"--Behavioral science is playing an increasing role in public policy, and it is raising new questions about fundamental issues the role of government, freedom of choice, paternalism, and human welfare. In diverse nations, public officials are using behavioral findings to combat serious problems poverty, air pollution, highway safety, COVID-19, discrimination, employment, climate change, and occupational health. Exploring theory and practice, this Element attempts to provide one-stop shopping for those who are new to the area and for those who are familiar with it. With reference to nudges, taxes, mandates, and bans, it offers concrete examples of behaviorally informed policies. It also engages the fundamental questions, include the proper analysis of human welfare in light of behavioral findings. It offers a plea for respecting freedom of choice so long as people's choices are adequately informed and free from behavioral biases.It is predicted by some observers that the 21st century will be remembered as the Asian Century. Many of the countries in the region seem to be able to take the economic and trade baton when one of the others experiences problems. the region, in general, continues to grow economically, politically and militarily. The articles presented in this book examine the current political and economic situations in nations across Asia, particularly focusing on economic developments.

Public Choices and Policy Change: The Political Economy of Reform in Developing Countries

The concept of good enough governance provides a platform for questioning the long menu of institutional changes and capacity-building initiatives currently deemed important (or essential) for development. Nevertheless, it falls short of being a tool to explore what, specifically, needs to be done in any real world context. Thus, as argued by the author in 2004, given the limited resources of money, time, knowledge, and human and organisational capacities, practitioners are correct in searching for the best ways to move towards better governance in a particular country context. This article suggests that the feasibility of particular interventions can be assessed by analysing the context for change and the implications of the content of the intervention being considered.

https://www.gsdrc.org/docs/open/ret283.pdf

Good Enough Governance Revisited

Effective government performance is central to the creation of market-oriented economies, secure and productive populations, and democratic political systems in developing countries. Capacity building to improve public sector performance is thus an important focus of development initiatives. Several implicit assumptions underlie most such efforts: that organizations or training activities are the logical site for capacity-building interventions; that administrative structures and monetary rewards determine organizational and individual performance; that organizations work well when structures and control mechanisms are in place; and that individual performance improves as a result of skill and technology transfer through training activities. Each of these assumptions is called into question by the findings of research carried out in six developing countries and reported in this article. Our studies indicate designing interventions that most constructively address sources of poor performance must follow from an assessment of a relatively broad set of variables, including the action environment in which all such activities take place. We also found that effective public sector performance is more often driven by strong organizational cultures, good management practices, and effective communication networks than it is by rules and regulations or procedures and pay scales. Our case studies further indicate that individual performance is more affected by opportunities for meaningful work, shared professional norms, teamwork, and promotion based on performance rather than it is by training in specific skills. In this article, we describe a framework or conceptual map that emphasizes that training activities, organizational performance and administrative structures are embedded within complex environments that significantly constrain their success and that often account for training or organizational failure. When it was applied in the six case study countries, the framework proved useful in identifying capacity gaps and providing a tool for the strategic design of interventions that are sensitive to the roots of performance deficits. This allows us to conclude that the assumptions underlying many capacity-building initiatives may focus attention on interventions that do not generate the highest payoffs in terms of improved performance.

Building sustainable capacity in the public sector: What can be done?

The Description for this book, Politics and Policy Implementation in the Third World, will be forthcoming.

Merilee S. Grindle

Papers

Good Enough Governance: Poverty Reduction and Reform in Developing Countries

Public Choices and Policy Change: The Political Economy of Reform in Developing Countries

Good Enough Governance Revisited

Building sustainable capacity in the public sector: What can be done?

Politics and Policy Implementation in the Third World