Working Paper #2013-053
The State of State Capacity: a review of concepts, evidence and measures
What is state capacity and how does it affect development? The concept
of state capacity acquired centrality during the late seventies and
eighties, sponsored by a rather compact set of scholarly works. It later
permeated through several disciplines and has now earned a place within
the many governance dimensions affecting economic performance. The
present article aims to provide a historical account of the evolution
and usage of the state capacity concept, along with its various
operationalizations. It examines in particular: a) the growing distance
in the usage of the concept by different disciplinary and thematic
fields; b) the process of `branching out' of the concept from restricted
to more multidimensional definitions; c) the problems with construct
validity and concept stretching, and d) the generalized lack of clarity
that exists regarding the institutional sources of state capacity.
- Keywords
-
- state capacity - statebuilding - fiscal performance - bureaucracies - neopatrimonialism
- JEL codes
-
- D73
- -
- D74
- H10
- H20
Cite this as
APA 7th ed.Cingolani, L. (2013). The State of State Capacity: a review of concepts, evidence and measures (UNU-MERIT Working Paper No. 2013-053). UNU-MERIT. https://unu-merit.nl/publications/working-papers/abstract/?id=5017