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It is widely accepted that good governance matters for growth and that growth, in turn, matters for progress towards the Millennium Development Goals. This also holds true for Pacific island countries and Timor-Leste, where greater government effectiveness is associated with higher per capita incomes. Higher per capita incomes are, in turn, associated with lower child mortality rates in the region.

Government effectiveness can be assessed on the basis of the quality of public services and infrastructure, the capacity of the civil service and its independence from political pressures and the quality of policy formulation. In general, Vanuatu and the Polynesian countries perform relatively well in these areas while the Marshall Islands, Timor-Leste and some Melanesian countries perform poorly. Control of corruption is a major challenge for a number of countries.