MCC and the Long Term Goal of Deepening Democracy.

摘要

When the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) was established in 2004, it received significant attention for its public commitment to good governance and democracy. Founded on the notion that the US should have an independent foreign assistance mechanism to allocate funds to countries that have demonstrated serious commitment to democracy and sound policies, the MCC uses a transparent selection process that emphasizes good governance and democracy, as well as social investments and economic freedom. Sixteen independent, publicly available, quantitative indicators measure government policies in three categories: Ruling Justly, Investing in People, and Economic Freedom. Countries are measured against peers in a similar income bracket. To be eligible for assistance, a country has to perform above the median on at least half of the indicators in all three categories, and above the median on the Control of Corruption indicator. This process marks the first time that American aid allocation has depended so explicitly on a countrys commitment to democracy. The fact that issues of Political Rights, Civil Liberties, and Voice and Accountability form a significant portion of the eligibility criteria draws positive attention from a range of democracy activists, experts, and elected leaders. Democracy is not the sole litmus test, but the selection criteria make it very difficult for a country to qualify for MCC funds without embracing democratic principles and institutions. Observers have pointed out that by identifying and funding countries with a visible commitment to democracy, MCC encourages countries to strengthen their own democratic institutions in an effort to qualify for hundreds of millions of dollars of untied foreign aid: an MCC Effect on democracy. The incentive is a strong one: countries that pass the selection criteria are asked to write their own proposal for the use of these funds to support economic growth and poverty reduction. Since 2005, MCC and eligible partner countries have been signing Compacts, in which MCC pledges full funding for countys own prioritized proposals, and countries pledge not only to implement the compact, but also to maintain or improve performance on the selection criteria.