The Quality of Government in a Comparative Perspective

The course is given as a single subject course and also a semi-elective course in the Master's Programme in Political Science, Master's Programme in International Administration and Global Governance or Master's Programme in European Studies at Gothenburg University. This is an in-depth course in Political Science in the second cycle.

Admission to the course requires the successful completion of a minimum of 15 credits from courses at the second cycle in Political Science or a minimum of the successful completion of 15 credits from courses in one of the programmes Master's Programme in European Studies or Master's Programme in International Administration and Global Governance or equivalent knowledge. Applicants must prove their knowledge of English: English 6 or English level 2 from Swedish Upper Secondary School or the equivalent level of an internationally recognized test, for example TOEFL, IELTS.

This course explores problems of the quality of government (QoG) and corruption in a comparative perspective.

The background to this is the recent consensus among social scientists about the importance of high-quality government for economic and democratic development as well as for social and environmental sustainability. Government organizations that are trustworthy, reliable, impartial, uncorrupted and competent are currently seen as one of the most important determinants of human well-being. Until recently the "general wisdom" was that corruption and related phenomena (patronage, clientelism and cronyism) had many positive effects ("greasing the wheels"). New theories and better data have turned this argument around.

Corruption is now seen as having detrimental effects on economic growth, public goods provision, the democratic processes and trust among citizens. Quality of government is not a problem of developing countries only, but exists also in economically advanced democracies where trust in government institutions and the sustainability of welfare programs have been questioned.

The central issues that will be addressed in the course are: What is QoG? How can QoG be defined and measured? What do you get from high QoG and what are the mechanisms through which the effects of high/low QoG work? What explains the great variation between countries in QoG? How is QoG related to democracy, economic growth, the rule of law, social capital, inequality, social policies, and people’s collective and individual well-being? Lastly, for those who aspire to win the Nobel prize: What does it take for countries to change from low to high quality government institutions?

A student who has passed the course will be able to:

Knowledge and understanding

• Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the concept of the quality of government, and distinguish it from related concepts
• Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the impact of high/low quality government on human development
• Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of advanced theoretical frameworks on the causes of variation in quality government across countries

Competence and skills

• Critically evaluate and compare theoretical frameworks and empirical findings on the causes of variation in the quality of government.
• Identify contradictions, gaps, and under-researched areas in the existing literature and apply relevant frameworks to the analysis of empirical cases.

Judgement and approach

• Independently prepare an original piece of research about some central aspects of the QoG research agenda, based on a critical assessment of the literature
• Independently produce a text in accordance with the academic writing requirements
• Effectively communicate complex ideas to academic audience

Teaching is conducted through lectures, compulsory seminars and individual tutorials.

Language of instruction: English

Student performance is assessed through three written assignments: memo (1,5 credits), exam (5,5 credits) and the final paper (7,5 credits). All three written assessments have to be carried out individually.

A student who is not able to attend a compulsory part of the course can do a compensatory assignment. The assignment is described in the course guide.

If students fail the memo or the research-proposal, they may be asked to revise their graded assignments and re-submit them. Failure to re-submit the assignment on time will result in a failing grade. If students fail the take-home exam, they must retake the exam within the timeframe specified in the course guide. Failure to re-submit the assignment on time will result in a failing grade.

Restrictions on the use of generative AI are stated in the course guide. Students are obliged to inform themselves about the current rules for examining elements such as assignments, seminar papers and other forms of exams in the course in question.

If a student, who has failed the same examined component twice, wishes to change examiner before the next examination, a written application shall be sent to the department responsible for the course and shall be granted unless there are special reasons to the contrary.

If a student has received a recommendation from the University of Gothenburg for study support for students with disabilities, the examiner may, where it is compatible with the learning outcomes of the course and provided that no unreasonable resources are required, decide to allow the student to sit an adjusted exam or alternative form of assessment.

At least five occasions shall be offered to students to pass a course or part of a course.

In cases where a course has been discontinued or has undergone major changes, the student shall normally be guaranteed at least three examination occasions (including the ordinary examination) during a period of at least one year from the last time the course was given.

The grading scale consists of Pass with Distinction (VG), Pass (G) and Fail (U).

To obtain a Pass grade for the course as a whole, students must achieve at least a pass grade for each individual assignment, and attended all compulsory seminars.

To obtain a High Pass grade for the course as a whole, the student must achieve a High Pass on at least two of the three assignments and a Pass on the rest of the assignments.

To obtain the grade Pass with Distinction the work of the student should demonstrate a very good knowledge on the main themes covered by the course and very good skills to connect theory and data through independent analyses and to fulfil high academic standards in terms of structure and language.

The student will be given the opportunity to do a course evaluation. The results of and possible changes to the course will be shared with students who participated in the evaluation and students who are starting the course.