Measuring Regional Governance in European Countries: Tracking Changes over time in 200 Regions

The concept of quality of government (QoG) and various measures to assess it have become more ubiquitous in several social science disciplines. QoG is related with economic and social development, better environmental conditions, and better quality of life. Yet while governance indicators have proliferated in recent years, their focus remains almost universally on analysis at the country level. Moreover, the majority of indices rely on expert assessments, as opposed to the assessments of citizens, who are the on-the-ground consumers of public services. This study presents a novel and comprehensive index that captures the quality of governance for 200 regions, based on both perceptions and experiences of citizens in public service areas such as health care, education, and law enforcement.