(RSC) Relational State Capacity: Rethinking State Capacity and Welfare Delivery in the Developing World

公民的福利取决于国家提供医疗、教育和安全等公共产品的能力。国家能力传统上被认为是国家向公民提供服务的能力;能力通常是通过有形基础设施的存在来操作和衡量的（例如道路、飞机、诊所）、公务员（如人均教师人数），或者国家的技术能力（例如，具有先进的疾病监测能力。该项目借鉴并吸收了一系列学科，提出了一种新的方式来概念化能力实际上“是什么”-公民和公务员之间的关系契约、信任关系和相互问责。与传统方法相比，这一视角将公民的作用-以及他们积极参与实现政策成果-置于首位（例如，接种新冠疫苗;向警方提供公民信息，以查明肇事者并加强公共安全）。RSC在理解国家产生福利结果的能力方面特别有用（以及如何改善公民福利）在许多情况下，国家不能只是“提供”给公民，而是需要与他们“合作”。（观察性计量经济学分析;荟萃分析;试点干预措施）和定性（访谈和个案研究过程追踪）的方法，本项目将：1）界定区域供应链，制定系统研究区域供应链的方法和措施; 2）验证RSC与实质性福利结果的关系，3）产生关于如何以及在什么情况下，RSC出现并可以得到加强;4）催化形成一个认识社区，参与与RSC相关的理论和实践问题，努力改善世界上一些最贫穷公民的生活。

Citizens' welfare depends on the state's capacity to generate public goods like health care, education, and safety. State capacity has traditionally been thought of as the state's ability to deliver to citizens; capacity is conventionally operationalized and measured by the presence of physical infrastructure (e.g. roads, planes, clinics), public servants (e.g. teachers per capita), or the state's technical capacities (e.g. having advanced disease surveillance abilities.The Relational State Capacity (RSC) project builds on and draws in a range of disciplines in suggesting a new manner of conceptualizing what capacity in fact "is" - relational contracts, relations of trust and mutual accountability between citizens and public servants. In contrast with conventional approaches, this perspective brings the role of citizens - and their active participation in achieving policy outcomes - to the forefront (e.g. COVID vaccine uptake; citizen information provision to police to identify perpetrators and enhance public safety). RSC will be particularly useful in understanding the state's ability to produce welfare outcomes (and thus what can be done to improve citizen welfare) in the many contexts the state cannot just 'deliver to' citizens, but needs to 'work with' them.Using quantitative (observational econometric analysis; meta-analysis; pilot interventions) and qualitative (interviews and case study process tracing) methods, this project will:1) define RSC, develop methodologies and measures for the systematic study of RSC;2) validate RSC's relationship with substantive welfare outcomes and3) generate knowledge regarding how, and under what circumstances, RSC emerges and can be strengthened;4) Catalyze the formation of an epistemic community engaging with RSC-related questions of both theoretical and practical relevance in efforts to improve the lives of some of the world's poorest citizens.