Liberia passed 14 out of 20 indicators, making significant improvements in several policy areas, according to the Millennium Challenge Corporation 2024 scorecard released Tuesday.
The MCC Scorecard assesses performance in three policy categories: Ruling Justly, Investing in People, and Encouraging Economic Freedom.
Liberia passed Control of Corruption and democratic rights indicators . This shows gains the country has made in its fight against corruption.
The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is an independent U.S. Government agency with the mission to reduce poverty in developing countries through sustainable economic growth.
Each year, the MCC Board of Directors (Board) selects countries as eligible for MCC assistance. The selection process begins with the Board identifying candidate countries to consider; which, by law, are all countries with per capita incomes below the World Bank’s threshold between lower middle income countries and upper middle income countries that are not prohibited from receiving assistance by federal law. For a candidate country to then be selected as eligible to receive assistance, it must demonstrate a commitment to just and democratic governance, investing in its people, and economic freedom as measured by independent policy indicators. These indicators inform the Board of candidate countries’ broad policy framework for encouraging poverty reduction through economic growth.
Ruling Justly
These indicators measure just and democratic governance, including a country’s demonstrated commitment to promoting political pluralism, equality, and the rule of law; respecting human and civil rights; protecting private property rights; encouraging transparency and accountability of government; and combating corruption.
Political Rights – Independent experts rate countries on: the prevalence of free and fair elections of officials with real power; the ability of citizens to form political parties that may compete fairly in elections; freedom from domination by the military, foreign powers, totalitarian parties, religious hierarchies and economic oligarchies; and the political rights of minority groups, among other things. Source: Freedom House
Civil Liberties – Independent experts rate countries on: freedom of expression; association and organizational rights; rule of law and human rights; and personal autonomy and economic rights, among other things. Source: Freedom House
Control of Corruption – An index of surveys and expert assessments that rate countries on: “grand corruption” in the political arena; the frequency of petty corruption; the effects of corruption on the business environment; and the tendency of elites to engage in “state capture,” among other things. Source: World Bank/Brookings Institution’s Worldwide Governance Indicators
Government Effectiveness – An index of surveys and expert assessments that rate countries on: the quality of public service provision; civil servants’ competency and independence from political pressures; and the government’s ability to plan and implement sound policies, among other things. Source: World Bank/Brookings Institution’s Worldwide Governance Indicators
Rule of Law – An index of surveys and expert assessments that rate countries on: the extent to which the public has confidence in and abides by the rules of society; the incidence and impact of violent and nonviolent crime; the effectiveness, independence, and predictability of the judiciary; the protection of property rights; and the enforceability of contracts, among other things. Source: World Bank/Brookings Institution’s Worldwide Governance Indicators
Freedom of Information – Measures the legal and practical steps taken by a government to enable or allow information to move freely through society; this includes measures of press freedom, national freedom of information laws, and the extent to which a country is shutting down the internet or social media. Source: Access Now / Centre for Law and Democracy / Reporters Without Borders
Investing in People
These indicators measure investments in the promotion of broad-based primary education, strengthened capacity to provide quality public health, the reduction of child mortality, and the sustainable management of natural resources.
Immunization Rates – The average of DPT3 and measles immunization coverage rates for the most recent year available. Source: WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
Public Expenditure on Health – Total expenditures on health by government at all levels divided by gross domestic product (GDP). Source: The World Health Organization (WHO)
Public Expenditure on Primary Education – Total expenditures on primary education by government at all levels divided by GDP. Source: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute of Statistics and National Governments
Girls’ Primary Education Completion Rate – The number of female students enrolled in the last grade of primary education minus repeaters divided by the population in the relevant age cohort (gross intake ratio in the last grade of primary). Source: UNESCO Institute of Statistics and National Governments
Girls’ Secondary Education Enrollment Rate – The number of female pupils enrolled in lower secondary school, regardless of age, expressed as a percentage of the population of females in the theoretical age group for lower secondary education. Countries with a GNI per capita between $2,046 and $4,255 will be assessed on this indicator instead of Girls Primary Completion Rates. Source: UNESCO Institute of Statistics and National Governments
Child Health – An index made up of three indicators: access to improved water, access to improved sanitation, and child (ages 1-4) mortality. Source: The Center for International Earth Science Information Network and the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy
Natural Resource Protection– Assesses a country government’s commitment to preserving biodiversity and natural habitats, responsibly managing ecosystems and fisheries, and engaging in sustainable agriculture. Source: Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy and The Center for International Earth Science Information Network
Encouraging Economic Freedom
These indicators measure the extent to which a government encourages economic freedom, including a demonstrated commitment to economic policies that: encourage individuals and firms to participate in global trade and international capital markets, promote private sector growth and strengthen market forces in the economy.
Regulatory Quality – An index of surveys and expert assessments that rate countries on: the burden of regulations on business; price controls; the government’s role in the economy; and foreign investment regulation, among other areas. Source: World Bank/Brookings Institution’s Worldwide Governance Indicators
Land Rights and Access – An index that rates countries on the extent to which the institutional, legal, and market framework provides secure land tenure and equitable access to land in rural areas and the extent to which men and women have the right to private property in practice and in law. Pass: Score must be above the median score for the income group. Source: The International Fund for Agricultural Development and Varieties of Democracy Index
Access to Credit – An index that ranks countries based on access and use of formal and informal financial services as measured by the number of bank branches and ATMs per 100,000 adults and the share of adults that have an account at a formal or informal financial institution. Pass: Score must be above the median score for the income group. Source: Financial Development Index (International Monetary Fund) and Findex (World Bank)
Employment Opportunity – Measures a country government’s commitment to ending slavery and forced labor, preventing employment discrimination, and protecting the rights of workers and people with disabilities. Sources: Varieties of Democracy Institute and WORLD Policy Analysis Center (UCLA)
Trade Policy – A measure of a country’s openness to international trade based on weighted average tariff rates and non-tariff barriers to trade. Source: The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom
Inflation – The most recent average annual change in consumer prices. Source: The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) World Economic Outlook Database
Fiscal Policy – General government net lending/borrowing as a percent of GDP, averaged over a three-year period. Net lending/borrowing is calculated as revenue minus total expenditure. Source: The IMF’s World Economic Outlook Database
Gender in the Economy – An index that measures the extent to which laws provide men and women equal capacity to generate income or participate in the economy, including factors such as the capacity to access institutions, get a job, register a business, sign a contract, open a bank account, choose where to live, to travel freely, property rights protections, protections against domestic violence, and child marriage, among others. Pass: Score must be above the median score for the income group. Source: Women, Business, and the Law (World Bank) and the WORLD Policy Analysis Center (UCLA)
