Abstract
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants and convergence of government effectiveness in African and Asian countries.Design/methodology/approachThe study utilizes data from 100 countries in Africa and Asia from 2002 to 2018. The panel-corrected standard error regression is used for the regression analysis, while both beta-convergence and sigma-convergence among the countries are tested.FindingsBoth beta-convergence and sigma-convergence exist among African and Asian countries. Asia performs better than Africa across all indicators except for press freedom, and voice and accountability. Corruption perception index, government size, voice and accountability, regulatory quality and economic wealth have a significant positive effect on government effectiveness. Press freedom negatively impacts on government effectiveness, suggesting that freedom is necessary but not sufficient if there are political actors whose actions undermine freedom. Similarly, the political constraint index, as reflected by checks and balances are necessary but not sufficient to enhance government effectiveness, especially in Asia.Practical implicationsThe results reveal that for press freedom and political checks and balances to enhance government effectiveness, there is a need for a different and holistic approach. The results are relevant for policymakers, public sector practitioners and academics.Originality/valueThis study utilizes a new dataset and is premier in exploring the convergence of government effectiveness among African and Asian countries.
Highlights
The governance literature is yet to have a universal agreement on the measurement of indicators such as effectiveness and quality in performance measurement (Garcıa-Sanchez et al, 2016, Brewer et al, 2007)
The result indicated that the corruption perception index has an average of 34.2, while the press freedom index recorded an average of 40.2
The Asian score for the two indicators is higher than the African scores, which suggests that Asia is performing better in corruption control
Summary
The governance literature is yet to have a universal agreement on the measurement of indicators such as effectiveness and quality in performance measurement (Garcıa-Sanchez et al, 2016, Brewer et al, 2007). Effectiveness of government addresses whether public administration carries out its mandate as expected, whether citizens work hard and well, whether the actions of public servants and the procedures of the civil service achieve objectives and overall missions at large (Rainey and Steinbauer, 1999). Government effectiveness could be materialized by ensuring citizen-centric service offerings and actions of government by way of increasing accountability. The full terms of this license may be seen at http:// creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
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