Good Government

Edited by Sören Holmberg, Senior Professor, Department of Political Science and Bo Rothstein, University of Gothenburg, Sweden

All too often today research in political science is irrelevant and uninspiring, shying away from the ''big'' questions that actually matter in people's lives. Good Government shows that this does not have to be the case. Tackling some of the ''biggest'' questions of the contemporary era - What is good government? Where does it come from? How can it be measured and how does it matter? - this book will prove invaluable to academics and policy makes alike. - Sheri Berman, Barnard College, US What is ''Good Government?'' Few doubt that it is better to have a ''good government'' than a ''bad'' one, but few of us have thought carefully about what makes for good government vs. bad. Soren Holmberg and Bo Rothstein's excellent volume helps fill in this gap. Though this book is more than this, but the focus on corruption is particularly fascinating. We know that corruption is ''bad'' but where does it come from? Why are some legislatures more corrupt than others? Why does the media sometimes collude? Why are women less easily corrupted than men? These are just a few of the many fascinating questions this volume explores. Bridging democratic theory, public policy and institutional analysis is one of the first that gives us some practical insight into the obviously important question: what makes some governments ''better'' than others? --- Sven Steinmo, European University Institute, Italy

• Contents:Preface1. Introduction: Political Science and the Importance of Good GovernmentSören Holmberg and Bo RothsteinPART I: WHAT IT IS2. Defining and Measuring Quality of GovernmentBo Rothstein and Jan Teorell3. Public Administration Around the WorldCarl Dahlström, Victor Lapuente and Jan Teorell4. Need or Greed Corruption?Monika Bauhr5. Impartiality and the Need for a Public Ethics of CareHelena Olofsdotter StensötaPART II: HOW TO GET IT6. In Democracy We Trust, But How Much?Nicholas Charron and Victor Lapuente7. Press Freedom and CorruptionMathias A. Färdigh, Emma Andersson and Henrik Oscarsson8. Weberian Bureaucracy and Corruption PreventionCarl Dahlström and Victor Lapuente9. Do International Organizations Promote Quality of Government?Monika Bauhr and Naghmeh Nasiritousi10. State Legitimacy and the Corruptibility of LeadersAnna Persson and Martin Sjöstedt11. Legislators and Variation in Quality of GovernmentStaffan I. Lindberg12. Why Women are Less Corrupt than MenLena Wängnerud13. Rethinking the Nature of the Grabbing HandAnna Persson, Bo Rothstein and Jan TeorellPART III: WHAT YOU GET14. Part of the SolutionSören Holmberg, Bo Rothstein and Jan Teorell15. Access to Safe WaterSören Holmberg and Bo Rothstein16. HappinessMarcus Samanni and Sören HolmbergIndex