Why are carefully designed, sensible policies too often not adopted or implemented? When they are, why do they often fail to generate development outcomes such as security, growth, and equity? And why do some bad policies endure? This World Development Report 2017: Governance and the Law addresses these fundamental questions, which are at the heart of development. Policy making and policy implementation do not occur in a vacuum. Rather, they take place in complex political and social settings, in which individuals and groups with unequal power interact within changing rules as they pursue conflicting interests. The process of these interactions is what this Report calls governance, and the space in which these interactions take place, the policy arena. The capacity of actors to commit and their willingness to cooperate and coordinate to achieve socially desirable goals are what matter for effectiveness. However, who bargains, who is excluded, and what barriers block entry to the policy arena determine the selection and implementation of policies and, consequently, their impact on development outcomes. Exclusion, capture, and clientelism are manifestations of power asymmetries that lead to failures to achieve security, growth, and equity. The distribution of power in society is partly determined by history. Yet, there is room for positive change. This Report reveals that governance can mitigate, even overcome, power asymmetries to bring about more effective policy interventions that achieve sustainable improvements in security, growth, and equity. This happens by shifting the incentives of those with power, reshaping their preferences in favor of good outcomes, and taking into account the interests of previously excluded participants. These changes can come about through bargains among elites and greater citizen engagement, as well as by international actors supporting rules that strengthen coalitions for reform.
Author(s): World Bank Group
Publisher: IBRD / The World Bank
Year: 2017
Language: English
Pages: 282, xxi
xiii Foreword
xv Acknowledgments
xix Abbreviations
1 Overview: World Development Report 2017:
Governance and the Law
2 Improving governance to meet today’s development challenges
5 Drivers of effectiveness: Commitment, coordination, and cooperation
12 Levers for change: Contestability, incentives, preferences and beliefs
19 Drivers of change: Elite bargains, citizen engagement, and international influence
29 Rethinking governance for development
32 Navigating this Report
33 Notes
34 References
39 Part I: Rethinking governance for development:
A conceptual framework
40 Chapter 1: Governance for development: The challenges
40 Understanding development policy: Proximate factors and underlying determinants
43 Development objectives . . . and constraints
48 Governance for the bottom half
48 Notes
48 References
51 Chapter 2: Enhancing governance for development: Why policies fail
52 Diverse pathways to success: Moving beyond institutional transplants
53 Drivers of effectiveness: Commitment, coordination, and cooperation
58 Policy effectiveness in the presence of power asymmetries
65 Levers for change: Incentives, preferences and beliefs, and contestability
72 A dynamic process: Drivers of change and the role of law
73 Notes
73 References
77 Spotlight 1: Corruption
80 Spotlight 2: The governance challenges of managing risks
83 Chapter 3: The role of law
84 Law and the policy arena
86 Ordering behavior: The command role of law
91 Ordering power: The constitutive role of law
93 Ordering contestation: The role of law in change
95 Getting to the rule of law
98 Notes
98 References
102 Spotlight 3: How do effective and equitable legal institutions
emerge?
109 Part II: Governance for development
110 Chapter 4: Governance for security
110 Can governance solve the problem of violence in society?
111 Security, governance, and power are tightly interlinked
116 Governance can improve security in four ways
123 Conclusion
123 Notes
124 References
130 Spotlight 4: Wartime governance
133 Spotlight 5: Crime
137 Chapter 5: Governance for growth
137 How policy “capture” slows economic growth
138 How governance matters to growth: A microeconomic perspective
141 How policies are affected by undue influence from powerful groups
145 Policy design under risk of capture
146 How the design of public agencies mediates the influence of powerful groups
150 Finding the right approach
152 Notes
153 References
159 Spotlight 6: The middle-income trap
163 Spotlight 7: Public-private partnerships
167 Chapter 6: Governance for equity
170 Two key policy areas that matter for equity: Investing in public goods and
expanding opportunities
171 Equity and institutional functions: The role of commitment and cooperation
173 How policies to promote equity can be affected by power asymmetries
178 Leveling the playing field and making governance more responsive to all
182 Improving policy effectiveness by taking into account asymmetries in bargaining
power
183 Notes
184 References
189 Spotlight 8: Service delivery: Education and health
195 Part III: Drivers of change
196 Chapter 7: Elite bargaining and adaptation
196 Understanding elite bargains
203 Elite bargains and uneven state capacity
205 Broadening the policy arena to enhance elite power
207 When binding rules for accountability serve as political insurance
208 When elites adapt through rules-based mechanisms
212 Entry points for change through elite adaptation
213 Notes
213 References
217 Spotlight 9: Decentralization
220 Spotlight 10: Public service reform
225 Chapter 8: Citizens as agents of change
226 Bringing change through the ballot box
230 Bringing change through political organization: The role of political parties
234 Bringing change through social organization
239 The role of induced participation and public deliberation
241 Entry points for change: Understanding citizen agency as a collective action
problem
241 Notes
242 References
247 Spotlight 11: From transparency to accountability through citizen
engagement
252 Spotlight 12: The media
257 Chapter 9: Governance in an interconnected world
257 Transnationalism and the domestic policy arena
259 Transnational rules and regulations: Enhanced cooperation and focal points for
change
266 Foreign aid and governance
273 Notes
274 References
278 Spotlight 13: Illicit financial flows
