Journal Special Issue
Aiding Government Effectiveness in Developing Countries

For more than two decades, addressing constraints to better governance in developing countries has been a priority issue for the international donor community. Recent changes to aid modalities have further prioritized the need for improving governance in a manner that ensures local ownership and harmonization with national development objectives. This special issue examines recent efforts by donors to meet these multiple goals by focusing on governance constraints related to improved service delivery and more efficient, transparent public administrations. Particular attention is given to policing, economic regulation, civic education, decentralization, civil service reform, and taxation. The contributions not only include analyses of project-level interventions and comparative case studies of reform but also interrogate the operational hypotheses underlying donors’ strategies for addressing governance constraints in these arenas. In doing so, the special issue highlights when and why donor attempts to improve governance have been more or less effective.