Letter Grading Government Efficiency

Alberto Chong (), Rafael La Porta (), Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes () and Andrei Shleifer

No 18268, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We mailed letters to non-existent business addresses in 159 countries (10 per country), and measured whether they come back to the return address in the US and how long it takes. About 60% of the letters were returned, taking over 6 months, on average. The results provide new objective indicators of government efficiency across countries, based on a simple and universal service, and allow us to shed light on its determinants. The evidence suggests that both technology and management quality influence the quality of government.

JEL-codes: H11 L32 L87 P48 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012-08
Note: EFG LE POL
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