摘要：Our understanding of governance in developing countries is weak and frequently
misguided. That international donors are paying attention to governance is
important, but many observers limit themselves to the ways in which governance
enhances markets. Governance is certainly necessary for market development, but
governments at times perform other functions, including replacing markets and
protecting social norms from market transactions. In addition to a limited
notion of governance, methods of measuring governance frequently limit
themselves to quantitative indicators. This misses the variety of sequences and
interactions by which states and markets are built and the unique socio-cultural
ways in which governance is likely to operate at different places and times.
Finally, we need to be far more aware of the way in which Northern actions, even
guided by good intentions, weaken governance in the South. Certain kinds of
trade and aid may actually undermine governance rather than enhance it. Of
particular worry is Northern impact on taxes and tax administration in the
South. Aid modalities, such as fragmented project aid, do little to enhance
governance and may worsen it. Further, insisting on exemptions for materials,
services, and incomes purchased with aid, as many donors do, worsens governance.
