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« Previous EntriesNational Disasters Today Provide Governance Lessons
Monday, March 1st, 2010 Let us consider three countries:
Country 1: Its approach to industrialization has relied heavily on a very large public sector that accounts for well over 40 percent of GDP, and on aid financing from richer countries. The country has no fiscal discipline, running a deficit exceeding 13 percent of GDP. Rather, leaders have focused more [...]
State Capture by “Main Street”?: The Toyota Saga Accelerates
Thursday, February 11th, 2010A few days ago I argued that one ought not point a finger at Toyota alone for the ’sudden unintended acceleration’ (SUA) woes in their vehicles, and suggested that the problem also reflects the failure of the US Government regulatory agency (NHTSA) to do its job. At that time I provided incipient evidence that [...]
Revamping Aviation Security: Non-terrorist Delta Flight 59 Exposes Ongoing Risks
Monday, February 8th, 2010In a previous entry critical of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) new profiling guidelines in the aftermath of the Christmas Day attempted terrorist attempt, I suggested that instead of focusing on nationality as a profiling devise for travel screening, a different and multi-pronged strategy may prove more effective. It would entail shifting away from national [...]
Regulatory Capture outside of Finance: NHTSA not just asleep at the Toyota wheel?
Friday, February 5th, 2010Plenty has been written on the role of financial institutions in the global crisis, and also in how they may have influenced their own generous rescue by the government. Many writings also touch on the ineffective role of the financial regulatory institutions. Some of the writings, including in this space, have suggested that such [...]
Haiti: Rescue, Recovery, and Effective Development Aid
Monday, January 18th, 2010We are pained about the death toll and human suffering in Haiti and we share their sorrow. With the exception of the tsunami in Asia, this tragedy is unprecedented in recent memory in a country not at war. Current technology makes the devastation and death instantly clear around the globe. Such technology also enables [...]
Power shifting back from Washington to New York: Recapture of the State in the offing?
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009Imagine you hold a very high position in the US Government, in Washington, DC. And you believe it is important to talk to the top Wall Street bankers, to nudge them to be more modest about their bonuses, and more generous about their lending. You call a meeting with these top bankers in Washington. [...]
International Anti-Corruption Day 2009: An Hour of Silence to Reflect and Reboot
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 As Wednesday, December 9th dawns, there is a dim reminder that one is supposed to ‘celebrate’ International Anti-Corruption. ‘Dim reminder’ to ‘celebrate’ in quotation marks indeed, because unfortunately anti-corruption continues to be largely in the back-burner for most world powers, for most international institutions, and for many of their leaders.
Or worse…
Corruption Index today, Development Aid Reform tomorrow?
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009Transparency International (TI), the international anti-corruption NGO, just released its annual corruption perceptions index (CPI). No big surprises. This is no surprise. Corruption does not tend to change dramatically from one year to the next. Yet it is certainly worth reviewing the new data…
Nobel Prize in Economics: illusions from Tinbergen to Keynes
Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 Almost everything we know about the Nobel Prize may be wrong. High time to address illusions. And indulge on another.
1. Was Tinbergen awarded the first Nobel Prize in Economics? No, strictly speaking. Because there is no such thing as a Nobel Prize in Economics. Alfred Nobel did not envisage it, or endow any. Instead, well [...]
Rashomon and Hillary Clinton in Nairobi: Account of Crime Differs
Wednesday, August 5th, 2009Rashomon was a path-breaking movie made by the brilliant director Akira Kurosawa in 1950. Set in medieval Japan, it tells the tale of a crime, as seen by four different witnesses, including the crime perpetrator and victims as well. Each witness account is totally different from the other. The message that there is no [...]
Arab Human Development Report 2009: Will improvement in Voice and Rights come from within?
Friday, July 31st, 2009A few weeks ago Obama went to Ghana and delivered a major speech to Africa. He spoke candidly about the dire governance challenges faced by many countries in the continent. I also noted that Obama was not explicit about the implications of his message for rethinking donor aid strategies to the continent. Hopefully such [...]
Indicadores Mundiales de Gobernabilidad 2009
Thursday, July 2nd, 2009Acabamos de salir a la luz con los Indicadores Mundiales de Gobernabilidad 2009, y con el nuevo reporte ‘Governance Matters’. El resumen en español, el reporte, y los datos estan aqui.
In French, here.
In Arabic, here.
In Japanese, here.
In Chinese (last year), here.
In Russian (last year), here.
In Português (last year), here.
For access to the most current Worldwide Governance [...]
Governance Matters 2009: Learning From Over a Decade of the Worldwide Governance Indicators
Monday, June 29th, 2009Today we are releasing the report Governance Matters VIII, which includes the new update of the Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI). Now collaborating from the Brookings Institution, I continue to take part in this research project with my former World Bank colleagues Aart Kraay and Massimo Mastruzzi.
In the WGI we construct and measure six dimensions [...]
Financial Crisis and the Media: Capture, Culture and Incentives, or Lack of Training?
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009There has been increasing attention paid to whether regulatory capture, as well as other forms of state capture, played a role in the financial crisis. Less attention has been paid to whether capture of the media, and of the financial media in particular, also took place, and what role, if any it had in [...]
Obama, EEUU y la Cumbre de las Américas
Thursday, April 16th, 2009El Presidente Barack Obama acaba de publicar una editorial en una docena de periodicos en América Latina. El motivo es la Cumbre de las Américas que comienza mañana en Trinidad y Tobago. Vale la pena estudiar lo que dice Obama. Contiene temas concretos, y ciertas medidas acertadas. Mi comentario se encuentra aquí (en inglés; [...]
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