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In this article, we consider the attitudinal motivations for political participation in countries across Asia. Specifically, we assess how trust in different types of institutional actors provides incentives for extra-legal actions, such as protest and the use of force, by analyzing the behaviors of individuals based upon their evaluations of representational and implementing institutions. As part of this analysis, we consider attitudes and action in both democracies and non-democracies, arguing for separate mechanisms to motivate unconventional political participation. Using Asian Barometer Survey data, we find that individuals living under democratic regimes are motivated to engage in more costly forms of participation in response to their assessments of trust in elected officials, while those individuals residing in non-democracies engage in these high-risk activities when they are dissatisfied with the performance of the police, civil service, and courts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to understand the development of good governance research worldwide covering the practices by the public and private institutions. Design/methodology/approach - A bibliometric study on 3,375 scientific papers from 1990 to 2018 was conducted, and the data was analyzed to examine the trends and challenges in the worldwide scientific productions for good governance. Findings - Most research comes from scholars in the high-income countries (70%) and has moved from classical socio-economic topics of good public governance to sustainable environmental development. Post-colonial politics and economy remain unending discussion on good governance in Africa and Asia. Exporting the implementation of good governance from wealthier countries attracts critics and arguments from the third countries. Practical implications - 3,375 scientific papers used in this research was collected from Scopus database. While it was not the only existing scientific research database, the collection could not guarantee the sample adequacy of the worldwide scientific knowledge on good governance. There are papers that are not Open Access (OA), written in other languages, published in regional/national journals, nor have significant academic impact. Originality/value - The authors recognize that this study is the first evaluation ever. The result provides the first scientific reference for probing the worldwide practices of good governance for public and private sectors. Under the changing world environment in the form of digital transformation, the rise of intangible economy, and the worldwide trend of coexistence between nationalism and globalism; this paper can provoke the policymakers to rethink good governance both for public and private institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Covid19 took us all by surprise, irrespective of whom we are talking about, i.e. smaller or larger and stronger states, giant economies or even those struggling for survival and demonstrated the vulnerability of all state and administrative structures in 2020, whether we are referring to EU member states, Asia or the USA. Covid 19 was at first regarded superficially by most decision makers. However, it wreaked havoc predominantly on human victims, but also had an important impact on deep and old wounds from various administrations, regardless of the continent, thus showing that no system is neither perfect nor unbeatable, that the time has come to put aside political pride and recognize that irrespective of whom we are, insignificant or noteworthy, rich or poor, we still have a lot of work to be done in terms of citizen protection, the medical system, the real possibility of implementing rapid action in emergency situations, and even the management of fundamental issues such as those related to the organisation of the system of education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foreign aid donors are increasingly investing in the good governance of freshwater resources in developing countries. One method used by many such programs is Track II Dialogue-informal discussions between government and non-government stakeholders facilitated by a neutral third party. There are many merits to participatory and discursive governance; however, there are also some limitations. This article considers the advantages and disadvantages of Track II Dialogue in transboundary water governance. It examines the relationship between discursive governance and water justice and analyses the role of the neutral third party facilitator. It also considers to what extent trust and cooperation must be present between riparians for deliberative processes to succeed. These observations are based on an analysis of foreign-led initiatives in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna basin. Foremost among these is the World Bank-funded South Asia Water Initiative, which aims to improve cooperation between riparian states by facilitating Track II Dialogue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will examine the vision of regional cooperation in the three Asias by analyzing the need of transforming SAARC and ECO as functional organizations so that the two can be useful for promoting meaningful cooperation in Central, South and West Asia. The regions of Central, South and West Asia are strategically, economically and politically relevant and important when one talks about the concept of three Asias. Regional cooperation is not a pipe dream but a major requirement for ensuring social and human development of people living in a particular region. Ideas, concepts, approaches and theories about regional cooperation and regionalism primarily emerged in the West, but it is in the Third World Countries or global South where connectivity and linkages in people, goods, services and capital became a need and a necessity with the passage of time. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries having their membership in SAARC and ECO and without their cogent role the vision to promote regional cooperation in the three Asias cannot be transformed into a reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outcome on the debt section of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda saw setbacks from the identification of the need to address the governance flaws in the sovereign debt resolution process agreed in the Doha Financing for Development Conference in 2008. On systemic issues, there was also limited progress in reducing the boom-bust patterns in international financial flows behind the most dislocating development reversals in poor countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional wisdom in the international aid community has been that governance systems and practices in developing countries require reform in order for aid catering to economic development or poverty alleviation to be successful. Despite criticisms, the good governance agenda has remained unscathed in international development policy until the recent economic crisis in the advanced economies. This feature section of this issue provides in-depth analysis of the nuances at the critical linkage between institutional reforms and development, based on empirical case studies of the logic of governance reforms in the Asian context. This introductory essay surveys the intellectual background of discussion over the concepts of governance, good governance and development, and the linkage between governance reforms as process and development as outcome. It highlights the significance of discussing Asian reform experiences for the ongoing reflection over the global institutional agenda. The message is not that we do not need governance reforms, or that international learning is impossible or counterproductive. Reform efforts in developing and advanced economies will benefit, however, from a better understanding of the linkage between reforms and the diverse historical conditions they are embedded in. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International good governance orthodoxy proposes a set of step-by-step governance reforms as a necessary component of development. However, this orthodox view is more a reflection of persistent myths of development than of its realities. Living examples of this are found in contemporary China and Vietnam. In these two authoritarian one-party states, much international orthodoxy of good governance reform and practice is deliberately contradicted in the reform and opening-up process. In uncovering the underlying political logic of persistent “lag” in governance reforms in Vietnam and China, we observe examples of leapfrogging and retro-fitting, rather than orderly sequencing of governance reforms. The case of rapid marketisation of public service delivery is used to illustrate the arguments. The lesson is clear: good governance can come later. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In recent years efforts have been made to improve governance by ensuring institutional performance and policing for greater transparency to sustain liberal democracy in Bangladesh and elsewhere. Since gaining independence in 1971, The People’s Republic of Bangladesh has been driven by internal power struggles and economic chaos, while attempting to develop a democratic society. A predominately Islamic country, Bangladesh’s representative government is battling poverty and rampant corruption. Although this study appreciates what Bangladesh has achieved so far, it seeks to deviate from the general trend that romanticizes Bangladesh’s democracy and its recent connection with new governance parameters. This study attempts to identify some of the major paradoxes that Bangladesh’s democracy is faced with. All these factors will be analyzed in the context of a contemporary notion of governance and democracy in Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Democracy is often considered a constitutive part of ‘good governance’, especially under the auspices of Western hegemony. Asian leaders have posed ‘Asian values’ as an alternative to democracy. Actually, Asian culture is heterogeneous, intricate and evolving. Even if ‘Asian values’ may be held by some to be obstacles for the development of democracy at this point of history, no one can be sure that this will definitely be the case in future. This article looks at the relationship between democratization and modernization following ‘Asian values’ discourse. Given the fact that both Asians and Westerners are human beings, sharing more commonalities as humans than differences, thus, to insist that Asia and the West should walk totally different paths of development is to exaggerate the cultural differences between the East and the West, while to assert that the Asians will follow the exact footsteps of the West is, indeed, hard determinism. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines the effects of the six components of good governance on foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in 15 Asian economies for the period 1996-2007 using a fixed effect model for panel data with heteroskedasticity corrected standard errors. The study also employs the feasible general least square (FGLS) and Prais-Winstein panel estimation methods in order to check the consistency of the results with the fixed effect model. The empirical results reveal that of the six components of good governance, political stability and absence of violence, government effectiveness, rule of law, and control of corruption are the key determinants of FDI inflows, as they exhibit consistent results under different models. However, the study finds no significant evidence with voice and accountability and regulatory quality in FDI inflows. The study reveals that human capital, infrastructure, lending rate, and GDP growth rate also have a significant influence on FDI inflows. We conclude that a country which can enhance its governance environment in general is likely to attract more foreign direct investment despite offsetting deficiencies in other dimensions of good governance such as voice and accountability and regulatory quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why in the wake of the Asian financial crisis have certain emerging market states (EMs) proved more proficient in the implementation of advanced economic reforms than others, despite similar crisis experiences, similar stages of economic development, similar pressure from external actors (both political and market-based), and - most significantly - similar interests in preventing recurrence? The article seeks to account for this paradoxical divergence in state responses to financial crisis conditions and in so doing help compensate for the paucity of crisis response studies in the literature; it seeks to explain why states with numerous similarities are nonetheless responding differently. The evidence appears to confirm that EMs are more likely to implement a significant range of reforms where the 'antecedents of good governance' are positive (see below); conversely, where the antecedents of EM governance are negative, attempts to implement the requisite regulatory changes have foundered. In either case, an interaction effect with degree of democracy is discernable with respect to each of the antecedents of good governance. Without the domestic forms called for here, not to mention necessary reforms of the international financial architecture, a contagion of even global proportions is not only possible but probable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The dynamic intersection of a pluralistic health system, large informal sector, and poor regulatory environment have provided conditions favourable for 'corruption' in the LMICs of south and south-east Asia region. 'Corruption' works to undermine the UHC goals of achieving equity, quality, and responsiveness including financial protection, especially while delivering frontline health care services. This scoping review examines current situation regarding health sector corruption at frontlines of service delivery in this region, related policy perspectives, and alternative strategies currently being tested to address this pervasive phenomenon., Methods: A scoping review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) was conducted, using three search engines i.e., PubMed, SCOPUS and Google Scholar. A total of 15 articles and documents on corruption and 18 on governance were selected for analysis. A PRISMA extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist was filled-in to complete this report. Data were extracted using a pre-designed template and analysed by 'mixed studies review' method., Results: Common types of corruption like informal payments, bribery and absenteeism identified in the review have largely financial factors as the underlying cause. Poor salary and benefits, poor incentives and motivation, and poor governance have a damaging impact on health outcomes and the quality of health care services. These result in high out-of-pocket expenditure, erosion of trust in the system, and reduced service utilization. Implementing regulations remain constrained not only due to lack of institutional capacity but also political commitment. Lack of good governance encourage frontline health care providers to bend the rules of law and make centrally designed anti-corruption measures largely in-effective. Alternatively, a few bottom-up community-engaged interventions have been tested showing promising results. The challenge is to scale up the successful ones for measurable impact., Conclusions: Corruption and lack of good governance in these countries undermine the delivery of quality essential health care services in an equitable manner, make it costly for the poor and disadvantaged, and results in poor health outcomes. Traditional measures to combat corruption have largely been ineffective, necessitating the need for innovative thinking if UHC is to be achieved by 2030.