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GOVERNANCE AS
A DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT
URL: http://www.spatialgovernance.com/governance/policy/gov-02.htm
© John S. Cook - Created on 14 July 2004
Last modified
12/08/07 16:18
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1. 'GOVERNANCE' AS A CONCEPT |
United Nations Ideas
about Governance
The United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) sees the building of a capacity for governance as
central to sustainable human development. The Programme recognises
governance as:
| the exercise of political,
economic and administrative authority in the management of a
country’s affairs at all levels. Governance comprises the complex
mechanisms, processes and institutions through which citizens and
groups articulate their interests, mediate their differences and
exercise their legal rights and obligations. Good governance has
many attributes. It is participatory, transparent and accountable.
It is effective in making the best use of resources and is
equitable. And it promotes the rule of law. (Speth 1997) |
In elaborating on the
nature of governance, the same policy document states that:
| Governance includes the state, but transcends it
by taking in the private sector and civil society. All three are
critical for sustaining human development. The state creates a
conducive political and legal environment. The private sector
generates jobs and income. And civil society facilitates political
and social interaction - mobilising groups to participate in
economic, social and political activities. Because each has
weaknesses and strengths, a major objective of our support for good
governance is to promote constructive interaction among all three. (UNDP
1997) |
Costs of Social
Injustice
Creating a 'conducive
political and legal environment' is said to influence the making of a more
productive society. The issue here is not merely that a society
is able to produce more physical goods. An additional problem is to allow the
distribution of the productive outcomes to be shared equitably within
an organisation or society. Where the distribution from a productive
society is seen as unfair, underprivileged sections of the community
may see some satisfaction in simply taking whatever they can, or
destroying things that belong to other people. Social injustice can
have significant adverse social and economic impacts in increased
costs of policing and security to protect property, vandalism, and
human destructiveness including self-destructiveness. |
Governance and Reward
Structures in Society
Understanding governance involves understanding subtle mechanisms of
social control that operate to encourage individuals to adopt particular
behaviour deemed socially beneficial and to dissuade individuals from
behaving in ways deemed harmful to society. In effect, these mechanisms
direct individual behavior into mutually beneficial activities
associated with synergy in society.Maslow
attributed the invention and development of ‘synergy’ as a concept to Ruth
Benedict, one of his teachers in anthropology. He cited from notes of a
lecture that she gave as follows:
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shall speak of cultures of low synergy where the social structure
provides for acts which are mutually opposed and counteractive,
and cultures with high synergy where it provides for acts which
are mutually reinforcing … I spoke of
societies with high social synergy where their institutions insure
mutual advantage from their undertakings, and societies with low
social synergy where the advantage of one individual becomes a
victory over another, and the majority who are not victorious must
shift as they can. (Ruth Benedict) |
Synergy
Synergy as a concept links 'efficiency' and 'productivity' in society,
especially where people pursuing their own self interest also manage to promote
the interests of society. Synergy involves the whole question of how
people can interact to mutual advantage and achieve more through
cooperation than they could achieve as individuals. In this regard,
synergy is often known as the 2 + 2 = 5 effect where the positive effects of an
organisation are more than equal to the sum of its parts. This increase
in productivity through combing efforts or merger does not occur through any magic but results from the
ability to take up underutilised capacity within an organisation or
society and bring it to its
potential. |
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References:
 | Speth, James Gustave (1997), Administrator, UNDP,
Forward to
‘Governance for Sustainable Human Development’, (January 1997) |
UNDP (1997),
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| Ruth Benedict, cited in Abraham H. Maslow
(1971), The farther reaches of human nature, Harmondsworth,
Middlesex: Penguin, p.191 – italics added by Maslow |
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Google Search on
Ruth Benedict -
Abraham Maslow -
symbiosis -
synergy |
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John S. Cook (2004),
Introducing an Economic Dimension to
Planning, especially at Comparative Advantage as a Basis for Trade |
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2. GOVERNANCE IN THE CONTEXT OF DEVELOPMENT |
Governance and
Development
The experience of the past few decades of trying to implement projects
in developing countries has highlighted the importance of institutional
infrastructure in the development process. Building physical
infrastructure is one aspect of economic development. However, knowing how to operate the infrastructure and design socially acceptable
rules to govern maintenance and use of the infrastructure are also
important in achieving improvements in social and economic outcomes.
Consequently, global and regional agencies such as the World Bank, the
International Monetary Fund, the Asian Development Bank and the like
have sought to integrate institutional improvements into the funding of
development projects.Sectors of Governance
The view of governance emanating from the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) includes the following sectors as
contributing to the overall governance in society:
| the public sector - with accountability for public
funding of government and its institutions: |
| the private sector - with accountability
within commercial corporations and the transactions that involve the wider
community: and |
| civil society - occurring within a
variety of formal and informal institutions that are known variously
as:
 | Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), |
| Non-Profit Organisations (NPOs) and |
| Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) |
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Governance, Literacy and Education
Governance begins with socially accepted understandings
regarding the purposes, aims or objectives of development. Developing
these understandings, particularly when social systems are complex and
dynamic, requires a degree of education and literacy through which
understandings can be articulated and interpreted. Accordingly,
education is important insofar as it helps to achieve understandings about how to achieve
production in mutually beneficial undertakings.
Failure of International Interventions
Good intentions are insufficient in providing international aid and
trying to alleviate poverty. The numerous failures that have occurred
are usually attributable to underestimating the problem of what it takes
to establish suitable governance institutions.
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References:
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3.
NEXUS BETWEEN PHYSICAL AND INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE |
Ancient Origins of
Institutional Development
Archeological evidence
indicates a rise and fall of ancient civilizations. Historical evidence
indicates a continuing influence of ancient writings and laws pertaining
to the governance of these ancient civilisations. Clearly, institutions
date from the beginning of civilisation
the physical infrastructure |
The benefits of technology
in physical urban infrastructure depends on how it is used. Thus,
benefits of roads depends on the behaviour of road users; of water
supply, on behaviour of water users; and so on. Thus the benefits and
costs of |
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References:
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4. PUBLIC SECTOR |
Governance and the
Separation of Powers
Modern democratic governments usually follow the
doctrine of the separation of
powers as a constitutional principle.
The legislature has a role in making laws and overseeing
the functioning of overall government. The executive arm of government
has a function in delivering public services and in administering laws.
In being allocated resources of government, the executive arm of
government exerts considerable power, but the institutions of government
also requires checks and balances to avoid abuse of power. In providing
checks and balances, key concepts include accountability,
responsibility, transparency, ethics and probity. The
judicial arm of government provides
an additional element of control over the executive arm. |
Regulatory Aspects of
Government
The executive arm of government has a regulatory task in administering
laws. The ability to administer laws depends on the respect that people
have for those laws. |
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References:
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5. PRIVATE SECTOR |
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References:
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John S. Cook, |
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6. CIVIL SOCIETY |
| Civil society includes
non-government and not-for-profit organisations; and individuals |
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References:
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John S. Cook, |
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7. OFFICIAL CORRUPTION |
The Nature of Official
Corruption
Examples of corruption are easy to describe, but it is not so easy to
provide a cogent and all-encompassing definition. A common element in
corruption is interference with the structures of prescribed rewards and
penalties that allows persons to receive rewards or punishments that
they do not deserve.
Generally, instances of corruption
depend on corruption of information processes. The solutions lie in
open, transparent and accountable government - that is, on the free flow
of information about government. |
The Nature of Official Corruption
Institutions of government and commerce embody regimes of rewards and
penalties to promote an equitable distribution of productive outcomes.
An essential feature of official corruption is that people
receive rewards and penalties that they do not deserve. This increases
the prospects for a more general disrespect for a rule of law. The
situation becomes more objectionable if individuals receive undeserved
rewards at the expense of people who already live in conditions of
poverty.
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Origin of Queensland Statement of Principles
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