Good governance in troubled times: What we know and what experts say

Abstract

While mankind has been subject to disasters since the beginning of civilization, economic development has brought about new types of crises like economic and financial crises and pandemics. Not all crises are the same, and neither are their effects. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the literature, discussing the asymmetric effects of various crises focusing on the role of governance and institutions. Specifically, we discuss the role of institutions in predicting crises and dealing with them, and how crises shape citizens’ trust in and the quality of institutions. Besides individual contributions to the special issue on the topic which are also summarized here, we provide insightful expert comments from scholars like Nejat Anbarci, Kaushik Basu, Utteeyo Dasgupta, Justin Esary, Robert Gillanders, Ajit Mishra, and Shang-Jin Wei on these topics. This piece is intended for scholars as well as practitioners and policymakers working in the area.