Building good governance and economic resilience in small states

Abstract

The issue of" good governance" has been at the centre of the development debate for more than ten years. It is still a contested term with a high normative content. Nevertheless there is a broad measure of agreement on what might be termed essential elements such as open, transparent and accountable government; efficient, effective and responsive administration; respect for human rights and the rule of law. Recently, good governance has been associated with economic resilience building, particularly for small states, which are very highly exposed to external shocks. This chapter argues that one of the characteristics of small states is that everything is interconnected in ways it is not in larger countries. This interconnectedness must be at the heart of policy to improve resilience and in turn demands a very broad brush policy approach to service the very special needs of small states.