Can strong institutions prevent abuse of power on the one hand or collapse into anarchy on the other? Can efficient bureaucracies help achieve long-term growth and development goals? Can governance indicators reliably measure — and help prevent — state corruption and conflict?
These were among the questions of a one-day workshop hosted on 2 December 2013 by UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance. Focusing on ‘Institutions, Governance and Development’, it was part of a long-running project with the French Development Agency (AFD); a project in which we assess institutions in 148 countries via the Institutional Profiles Database.
The day’s nine presentations were given by a combination of guest lecturers and local fellows including Richard Bluhm (on weak institutions and crises), Samyukta Bhupatiraju (on growth, institutions and geography), and Luciana Cingolani (on state capacity and development goals). In the videos below, both Luciana Cingolani and external expert Alina Mungiu-Pippidi explain the need for new and sophisticated governance indicators in the fight against corruption and conflict.
VIDEO: LUCIANA CINGOLANI
VIDEO: ALINA MUNGIU-PIPPIDI
CREDITS
Image: Flickr / epSos.de