How Does Good Governance Relate to Quality of Life?

This paper explores the relationship between the practices of good governance and the quality of life at the municipal level in Spain. A composite indicator of the quality of life of 393 Spanish municipalities in 2011 is estimated using varied statistical information. For this purpose, we follow a benefit of the doubt approach based on Data Envelopment Analysis. Then three dimensions of good governance are considered: transparency, participation, and accountability. The results show a significant positive relationship between quality of life and participation and financial accountability. However, transparency seems to be unrelated to quality of life.