Public governance in three dimensions: conceptual, measurement and democratic

Abstract This paper sought to identify and evaluate initiatives to define and measure public governance. Therefore, a meta-analysis of articles aimed at the construction or critique of public governance indices was performed. The contents of the articles was analyzed by categorical analysis, based on three dimensions of governance: conceptual, measurement and democratic. The results indicate a great diversity of concepts, of instruments used to measure public governance, and of institutional actors that carry it out. Dissonance was also observed between the indicators and the concepts of public governance. Lastly, a definition was proposed for public governance based on the identification and analysis of the concepts presented in the articles.