Institutions of Restraint: The Missing Element in Pakistan’s Governance

Governance and Institutions are not ends in themselves but it is well known by now that good governance and effectively functioning institutions are required, along with sensible policies and well designed public investment, to improve resource allocation and comparative advantage, enhance productivity, facilitate more efficient markets and distribute the benefits of growth more equitably in any economy. How do Governance and Institutions interact? Governance refers to the manner in which power is exercised in the management of a country’s economic and social resources. Good governance requires checks and balances in a country’s institutional infrastructure, such that politicians and bureaucrats have the flexibility to pursue the common good, while restraining arbitrary action and corruption. The state’s monopoly on coercion, coupled with access to information not available to the general public, creates opportunities for public officials to promote their own interests, or those of friends or allies, at the expense of general interest. The probabilities for rent seeking and corruption are considerable. A variety of institutional mechanisms can provide the checks and balances that will lead to good governance and reduced corruption. To be enduring and credible, these mechanisms need to be anchored in core state institutions. Power can be divided horizontally among judiciary, the legislative and the executive, and vertically between central, provincial and local authorities. Beyond the institutions within the state structure, voice and participation from civil society e.g. vigilant NGOs and watchdog bodies, independent but impartial media, user participation surveys, public dissemination of governance benchmarks—can exert external pressures for better government performance and reduced corruption.