This article uses a cross-national data set on the performance of government investment projects financed by the World Bank to expatriate the link between government efficacy and governance. It demonstrates a strong empirical link between civil liberties and the performance of government projects. Even after controlling for other determinants of performance, countries with the strongest civil liberties Date projects with an economic rate of return 8–22 percentage points higher than countries with the weakest civil liberties. The strong effect of civil liberties holds trite even when controlling for the level of democracy.....

What, How and How well....