Recent research demonstrates that the quality of public institutions is crucial for a number of important environmental, social, economic, and political outcomes, and thereby human well-being. The Quality of Government (Qo G) approach directs attention to issues such as impartiality in the exercise of public power, professionalism in public service delivery, effective measures against corruption, and meritocracy instead of patronage and nepotism. This Handbook offers a comprehensive, state-of-the-art overview of this rapidly expanding research field and also identifies viable avenues for future research. The initial chapters focus on theoretical approaches and debates, and the central question of how Qo G can be measured. A second set of chapters examines the wealth of empirical research on how Qo G relates to democratization, social trust and cohesion, ethnic diversity, happiness and human wellbeing, democratic accountability, economic growth and inequality, political legitimacy, environmental sustainability, gender equality, and the outbreak of civil conflicts. The remaining chapters turn to the perennial issue of which contextual factors and policy approaches national, local, and international have proven successful (and not so successful) for increasing Qo G. The Quality of Government approach both challenges and complements important strands of inquiry in the social sciences. For research about democratization, Qo G adds the importance of taking state capacity into account. For economics, the Qo G approach shows that in order to produce economic prosperity, markets need to be embedded in institutions with a certain set of qualities. For development studies, Qo G emphasizes that issues relating to corruption are integral to understanding development writ large.
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