Good Governance and Human Development in Developing Countries, with Special Reference to South Asia

Abstract

The developing countries of the world continuously face challenges of economic growth, political and human development. One of the ways to achieve economic, political and human development is good governance. The ultimate purpose of good governance is an improvement in human development. Without an improvement in human development, the objectives of good governance cannot be achieved. The emphasis on good governance has been the focus since the World Bank introduced the concept in 1989. The World Bank and other major donor institutions like the European Union (EU), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the United Nations (UN) considered good governance as a criterion for development aids. With the use of World Bank data on good governance and UNDP data on human development in developing countries, this paper seeks to analyze the relationship between good governance and human development. To assess the relationship, I will use regression analysis to determine the important variables affecting human development. The paper will also analyze the status of human development and good governance in South Asia based on World Bank data.