There seems to be less variability in institutional performance compared to the social, economic or environmental dimensions. Overall, EU countries score among the best in the world for these measures, but there are sometimes stark differences between the Member States.
The indicators looked at below – government effectiveness, control of corruption and rule of law – are part of the World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) and are perception-based. For more information, see: http://info.worldbank.org/governance/wgi/ .
Government effectiveness 1996–2020
Between 1996 and 2020, there was no statistically significant catching-up process among Member States in terms of government effectiveness; therefore, beta convergence cannot be assumed. However, disparities as measured by the standard deviation decreased since the start of the century, as did the unweighted EU average, indicating downward sigma convergence. The increase in the average up to 2004 was likely affected by a cohort of Member States joining the EU and thus adopting legislation to fit the EU aquis. The level of disparities between Member States increased in 2020 as national strategies to combat COVID-19 differed greatly.
Control of corruption 1996–2020
From 1996 to 2020, there was beta convergence in the control of corruption in the EU27, which reflects a catching-up process between the Member States. There was sigma convergence from the start of the century until 2005, after which disparities increased until the end of the 2008–2013 crisis. Since then, the standard deviation has declined along with the EU average, reflecting downward sigma divergence. It should be borne in mind that these scores reflect citizens’ perception of corruption and are not objective measures.
Rule of law 1996–2020
Since the start of the 2000s, there was beta convergence and sigma convergence in perceived rule of law in the EU27 Member States. However, EU performance has deteriorated since it hit a peak in 2014, with scores similar to those in the early 2000s. Perceptions of rule of law do not seem to have been affected by the 2008–2013 crisis. It remains to be seen how the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will affect citizens’ perceptions.
