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‘Good’ Governance and Human Development: The Case of China and India

Ottervik, Mattias Gottfrid LU (2011) STVK01 20111
Department of Political Science
Abstract
This paper attempts to answer two interrelated questions: what is good governance and what is its relationship with human development, and what allowed China to outperform India on the Human Development Index. The United Nations Development Programme and scholars connect human development very closely with good governance. However, even as its HDI score is 28% higher than India’s, China’s quality of government seems lower according to several governance indices.
‘Good governance’ combines minimalist aspects of governance, such as effectiveness, with a normative understanding of the ‘good’. The relationship between good governance and human development is strong, but it is the minimalist aspect of governance, effectiveness, that has the... (More)
This paper attempts to answer two interrelated questions: what is good governance and what is its relationship with human development, and what allowed China to outperform India on the Human Development Index. The United Nations Development Programme and scholars connect human development very closely with good governance. However, even as its HDI score is 28% higher than India’s, China’s quality of government seems lower according to several governance indices.
‘Good governance’ combines minimalist aspects of governance, such as effectiveness, with a normative understanding of the ‘good’. The relationship between good governance and human development is strong, but it is the minimalist aspect of governance, effectiveness, that has the largest impact on human development levels. While the indicators are multicollinear, the results of Third Wave democratization suggest that effectiveness is the important variable. China was able to realize a comparatively high level of human development through an effective government which could autonomously formulate and implement policies. Though well-intended, India’s leadership seems to not have had the same ability to formulate or implement policies without influence of social forces. On the other hand, India’s difficulty in formulating and implementing policy also meant that it avoided upheaval. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Ottervik, Mattias Gottfrid LU
supervisor
organization
course
STVK01 20111
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Human Development, Governance, State Capacity, India, China
language
English
id
1968521
date added to LUP
2011-06-20 14:31:15
date last changed
2011-06-20 14:31:15
@misc{1968521,
  abstract     = {{This paper attempts to answer two interrelated questions: what is good governance and what is its relationship with human development, and what allowed China to outperform India on the Human Development Index. The United Nations Development Programme and scholars connect human development very closely with good governance. However, even as its HDI score is 28% higher than India’s, China’s quality of government seems lower according to several governance indices.
‘Good governance’ combines minimalist aspects of governance, such as effectiveness, with a normative understanding of the ‘good’. The relationship between good governance and human development is strong, but it is the minimalist aspect of governance, effectiveness, that has the largest impact on human development levels. While the indicators are multicollinear, the results of Third Wave democratization suggest that effectiveness is the important variable. China was able to realize a comparatively high level of human development through an effective government which could autonomously formulate and implement policies. Though well-intended, India’s leadership seems to not have had the same ability to formulate or implement policies without influence of social forces. On the other hand, India’s difficulty in formulating and implementing policy also meant that it avoided upheaval.}},
  author       = {{Ottervik, Mattias Gottfrid}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{‘Good’ Governance and Human Development: The Case of China and India}},
  year         = {{2011}},
}