From de-jure to de-facto : Mapping Dimensions and Sequences of Accountability
Accountability is one of the cornerstones of good governance. Establishing accountable institutions is a top priority on the international development agenda. Yet, scholars and democracy practitioners know little about how accountability...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2017
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/324501487592445304/Mapping-dimensions-and-sequences-of-accountability http://hdl.handle.net/10986/26212 |
| Summary: | Accountability is one of the
cornerstones of good governance. Establishing accountable
institutions is a top priority on the international
development agenda. Yet, scholars and democracy
practitioners know little about how accountability
mechanisms develop and thus can be supported by
international and national actors. The present study tackles
the questions of how, and in what order accountability
mechanisms develop. We consider not only vertical and
horizontal, but also diagonal accountability mechanisms
(active civil society organizations and independent media)
in both their de-jure and the de-facto dimensions. By
utilizing novel sequencing methods, we study their
sequential relationships in 173 countries from 1900 to the
present with data from the new V-Dem dataset. Considering
the long-term dimensions of institution building, this study
indicates that most aspects of de-facto vertical
accountability precede other forms of accountability.
Effective institutions of horizontal accountability – such
as vigorous parliaments and independent high courts – evolve
rather late in the sequence and build on progress in many
other areas. |
|---|