Lecture 6: why good policies arent implemented Flashcards
‘Good Governance’
“Good governance is ensuring respect for human rights and the rule of law; strengthening democracy; promoting transparency and capacity in public administration.”
What are the key issues with failing development policies?
Slow Progress: Promoting ‘Good Governance’ is a slow process.
Capability Trap: Poor countries often struggle to apply reforms due to weak institutions.
Examples of Failed Implementation:
Nigeria’s Vision 2020: Ambitious goals but poor execution.
Policy Failure Examples:
Unused IT equipment in Nigeria.
48% teacher absenteeism in India despite reforms.
Mozambique’s budget process failed to prevent hidden debts.
Brazil’s anti-corruption agencies couldn’t stop major scandals like Petrobras.
Key Issue: The problem is not a lack of knowledge but poor implementation.
Improving governance is hard because:
- Limited time, attention and political capital
- ‘Premature load bearing’(Pritchett et al 2013)
o Capacity by definition limited in developing countries
o Doing everything means doing nothing - organizations are ‘stressed’
o “Govern like you were Denmark…” - These governance institutions are the result, not the cause of development
o Now-developed countries did not have all these institutions and capabilities when they grew (Chang 2002)
o ‘Good governance’ followed development, once it could be afforded (Khan 2007)
Why Are Development Initiatives Still Failing?
The Rules Are Being Ignored (by politicians)
‘Good governance’ is too demanding.
Focus on form over function (‘isomorphic mimicry’).
Politicians may avoid enforcing rules to win votes (‘forbearance’).
The Rules Are Being Imported (by international donors)
Overwhelming policies with unrealistic expectations (e.g., “Govern like Denmark”).
The Rules Are Being Broken (by corruption and clientelism).
The Rules Are Being Resisted (by vested interests and identities).
Grindle’s Solution:
‘Good Enough Governance’ – Prioritize key reforms, sequence changes carefully, and focus on poverty reduction.
Isomorphic mimicry
‘Copy-pasting’ institutional rules that are perceived to have promoted development elsewhere.
An institution’s form (what it ‘looks like’) is NOT its function (what it ‘does’)
Like taking a law from the US and use them in Nigeria: but that doesn’t mean it works
Modernization Theory: Copying ‘modern ‘organizational forms creates development
But:
- Assumes that institutions work the same in any context
- Ignores differences in history, culture, state capacity
- Ignores how the institution came to be and how state capabilities are built by learning and doing
- Ignores the local legitimacy of the institution (us and Nigeria doesn’t have the same legitimacy)
- Ignores whether these institutions really mattered for development (Chang 2002)
Why does isomorphic mimicry continue?
Domestic Legitimacy
Politicians/bureaucrats adopt Western institutions to appear credible.
Assumes Western models must work since those countries are rich.
Acts as ‘window dressing’ rather than ensuring real performance.
Western Donor Bias
Preference for exporting technical solutions over political reforms.
Local experimentation is risky and harder to measure.
Copying Western laws reflects donor influence.
Focus on the ‘development industry’ rather than actual development.
‘Forbearance’
“Intentionally choosing not to enforce the rules/laws”
It is blocking development in the long run, incentive to invest in them
The cost: Undermining property rights
Politics in developing countries is not Left vs.
Right
o But Enforcement vs. Forbearance
Enforcement is a signal of being ‘anti-poor’
o A candidate of ‘law and order’
Forbearance is a signal of being pro-poor
When do governments choose forbearance?
o Where governing politicians depend on poor voters
o Where alternative, formal, social welfare programs are weak
