Advancing Governance Indicator Systems
A two-day gathering on the UCLA campus focused on the scholarly implications of a landmark Index, measuring democracy and quality of life across nations.
Why do some countries perform badly in delivering health care, providing a clean environment and social security, or delivering some other public good to their populations even while they have the resources to do so, while others seemingly fare better?
Does the capacity of states to provide the basics for societies to thrive depend on democratic accountability that represents different interests, or are systems under technocratic control that impose solutions and disregard, even suppress, many voices better? Can we necessarily assume that democratic accountability makes for better governance performance, or is it state capacity alone that makes the difference? Does a seemingly “apolitical” technocratic approach to governance lead to better outcomes than a system of contestation and democratic decision-making? Questions such as these are at the core of what the BGI is about, and the new understanding of governance that underlies it.
Because new times demand new measures, the 2022 Index examines the performances of countries with a conceptual framework that incorporates democratic accountability (Quality of Democracy) and state capacity (Quality of Governance) as key factors of public goods provision (Quality of Life). Over the span of 20 years, the Index analyzes 134 countries across three main indices and nine subindices to examine the relationship between Quality of Democracy, Quality of Government, and Quality of Life.
Take a closer look
Explore the data
for yourself on
an interactive website
hosted by
the Berggruen Institute.
Read and download the Executive Summary of the 2022 Berggruen Governance Index.
Read and download the full report of the 2022 Berggruen Governance Index.
June 2022 Launch event
The project was unveiled during a launch event in the Grand Salon of Kerckhoff Hall at UCLA on June 1, 2022. Here is a look at the day’s agenda:
Welcome and Introductory Addresses
- Gary Segura, dean of the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs
- Dawn Nakagawa, executive vice president of the Berggruen Institute
The 2022 Berggruen Governance Index
- An overview by UCLA adjunct professor Helmut K. Anheier, former president of the Hertie School in Germany, and Markus Lang, a researcher for the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs
- Presentation of the visualization and analysis application by Anheier and Lang
Panel Discussion
A discussion of democracy, public policy and global challenges moderated by Anheier and featuring an esteemed panel of UCLA experts:
- Steve Zipperstein, an attorney and lecturer in global studies at UCLA
- Veronica Herrera, an associate professor at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs who studies political development in the Global South
- Cesi Cruz, an assistant professor whose research intersects political science and economics at UCLA
- Zachary Steinert-Threlkeld, an assistant professor at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs focusing on subnational conflict, statistics and advanced data analysis
Q & A with the audience
Closing Comments
- Michael Storper, a professor at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and an internationally recognized urban geographer
- Andrew Apter, a professor of history and anthropology at UCLA whose research expertise includes Afrocentric cultural dynamics
Markus Lang presents research results.
Audience members inside Grand Salon at UCLA’s Kerckhoff Hall.
UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs
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