Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI)

Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) are a continuing research scheme to develop

cross country indicators of governance. The WGI comprise six combined indicators of broad
magnitudes of governance encompassing over two hundred countries since the year 1996.

These indicators are constructed on a number of hundred variables attained from thirty-one
diverse data sources, catching governance perceptions as conveyed by survey respondents, non
governmental organizations, think tanks, aid donors, public officials, corporations and commercial and
business information providers, and public sector organizations in the countries being assessed.
 Contd.
• Six broad Indicators
• 1.Voice and Accountability
• 2.Political Stability and Absence of Violence
• 3. Government Effectiveness
• 4. Regulatory Quality
• 5. Rule of Law
• 6. Control of Corruption
 Contd
Voice and Accountability- captures perceptions of the extent to which a country's citizens are able to participate in
selecting their government, as well as freedom of expression, freedom of association, and a free media. By enabling
society to vocalize issues and participate in selecting their representative forces government to respond to
public concerns.
Political Stability and Absence of Violence/Terrorism - captures perceptions of the likelihood that the government will
be destabilized or overthrown by unconstitutional or violent means, including politically motivated violence and
terrorism.
Government Effectiveness -captures perceptions of the quality of public services, the quality of the civil
service and the degree of its independence from political pressures, the quality of policy formulation and
implementation, and the credibility of the government's commitment to such policies.
Regulatory Quality -captures perceptions of the ability of the government to formulate and implement sound policies
and regulations that permit and promote private sector development.
Rule of Law - captures perceptions of the likelihood of crime and violence and the extent to which members of the
public have confidence in and abide by the rules of society, respect contract enforcement, property rights, the police,
and the courts.

Control of Corruption - captures perceptions of the extent to which public power is exercised for private gain,
including both petty and grand forms of corruption, as well as "capture" of the state by elites and private interests.
(Kaufman 2010).
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Criticisms
· Development practitioners should be cautious in their interpretation of the six WGI scores when diagnosing a
country’s relative strengths and weaknesses in governance. The indicators, individually and collectively, are too
imprecise for policy analysis and evaluation.
· The individual sub-indicators that comprise each one of the six WGI indicators would allow investigators to
examine whether the WGI indicators are as distinct as their nomenclature suggests. Even though many of the
sub-indicators of each WGI indicator are based on perception, they are all based on surveys that may be
indicative of different aspects of governance.
· Though each sub-indicator may lack the reliability of the aggregate indicators, they may still provide
important and perhaps more precise information about different aspects of governance. Assessing the six WGI
indicators is ultimately not a measurement task, but six separate causal hypotheses that many investigators are
actively investigating. That the relation between institutions and outcomes is often endogenous does not make
them the same thing.

(Langbein, L. and Knack, S., 2010, 'The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Six, One, or None?', Journal of
Development Studies, vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 350-370)
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‘The methodology adopted in preparing the Worldwide Governance Indicators

(WGI) rankings underlines the preference for some values that are dominant in
Western liberal democratic systems. This places Asian states at a disadvantage as
other traditional values are ignored in assessing the state of governance.’

‘Critics argue that there is a need for developing alternative criteria for
accommodating indigenous institutional structures, processes, and practices to
ensure that Asian countries can benefit from the desired values of governance and
help overcome the partial picture of governance that emerges in the WGI.’
‘The challenge of assessing governance in Asian states: Hong Kong in the Worldwide Governance Indicators
ranking’ by Ahmed Shafiqul Haque Asian Journal of Political Science Volume 26, 2018 - Issue 2
In the Context of Developing Countries
Building of requisite capacities of governance becomes more pronounced
• Make concerned institutions more participative, decentralized and
responsive. Reduce monopoly of the central government
• Involve wider spectrum of Stakeholders and masses
• Preserve ethical standards and enhance the work of the oversight bodies
• Capacity building to respond to challenges and opportunities created by
the forces of globalization
• Improve management for enhancing human resources
• monitor policy programs
• develop leadership skills and effective conflict management
 Problems of governance
Lack of free and fair polls
Problems of establishing electoral democracy
Problems of consensus building
Non-functional parliament
Lack of transparent procedures
Lack of institutionalization of political parties
Fierce elite competition
Contd.
• Confrontational political culture
• Inefficient bureaucracy
• Lack of decentralization and weak local government
• Social cleavages
• Biased press and media
• Problems of human rights and security
Remedies
• Legitimacy
• Protection of human rights
• Rule of law
• Equal access to justice
• Judicial independence
• Decentralization and devolution
• Accountability
• Transparency
• Efficiency
Contd
• Effective watchdog agencies
• Reduce corruption
• Tolerant political culture
• Proper institutional balance
• Consensus building
• Politics of mutual trust
• Even development process and lessen disparity
• Effective use of ICT