‘Good’ Governance and Human Development: The Case of China and India

Abstract: This paper attempts to answer two interrelated questions: what is good governance and what is its relationship with human development, and what allowed China to outperform India on the Human Development Index. The United Nations Development Programme and scholars connect human development very closely with good governance. However, even as its HDI score is 28% higher than India’s, China’s quality of government seems lower according to several governance indices. ‘Good governance’ combines minimalist aspects of governance, such as effectiveness, with a normative understanding of the ‘good’. The relationship between good governance and human development is strong, but it is the minimalist aspect of governance, effectiveness, that has the largest impact on human development levels. While the indicators are multicollinear, the results of Third Wave democratization suggest that effectiveness is the important variable. China was able to realize a comparatively high level of human development through an effective government which could autonomously formulate and implement policies. Though well-intended, India’s leadership seems to not have had the same ability to formulate or implement policies without influence of social forces. On the other hand, India’s difficulty in formulating and implementing policy also meant that it avoided upheaval.