What Do the Worldwide Governance Indicators Measure?

Since the 1990s, researchers and donors have focused more closely on the importance of “good governance ” as a determinant of development and as a development objective in itself. The emphasis on good governance has created a demand for indicators to measure the quality of governance for both research and aid targeting. The Worldwide Governance Indicators, which rank countries on six aspects of “good governance ” are first generation aggregate indicators that are relied upon by both researchers and policymakers. This paper considers the “construct validity ” of these indicators-- whether the indicators measure what they purport to measure. The paper concludes that while there are reasonable questions about the construct validity of the indicators, no evidence of construct validity has been offered. Moreover, given the methodology employed, evidence of construct validity is not likely to be forthcoming. To date, the indicators stand as an elaborate untested hypothesis about the nature of governance. Reliance upon them for any purpose is premature. Since the 1990s, development researchers and practitioners have focused on “good governance ” as both a means of achieving development and a development objective in itself. The World Bank has defined “good governance ” as “epitomized by predictable, open and enlightened policy making; a bureaucracy imbued with a professional ethos; an executive arm of government accountable for its actions; and a strong civil society participating in public affairs; and all behaving under the rule of law. ” (World Bank