| dc.description.abstract | In this paper I argue that Rothstein and Teorell’s (2008) concept of impartiality helps
to integrate four conspicuously disparate strands in the literature on consequences of
government institutions: the literatures on corruption and social capital, growth and
economic development, bureaucratic quality and civil war, and on subjective wellbeing
and happiness. Second, I present some original data on the impartiality of
government institutions in 52 countries across the globe, based on a web-based expert
poll with public administration scholars. I then perform cross-country tests of the
predictions of the theoretical model, showing that impartial institutions affect
institutional trust, economic growth, and individual-level happiness. Although less
robustly so, impartiality is also related to stocks of social capital and the absence of
civil war. With few exceptions, the relationships between impartiality and societal
outcome variables are on par with those of the Worldwide Governance Indicators. | sv |
