# In an op-ed, Prof. Michael Spence discusses the disconnect between a country's government & economy

1 Faculty News March 18, 2014 ![Project Syndicate logo](/sites/default/files/styles/246w/public/assets/images/con_030500.jpg?itok=ONV7lJ6H)>

Excerpt from [Project Syndicate](http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/michael-spence-and-david-brady-on-the-remarkably-weak-correlation-between-relative-economic-performance-and-government-effectiveness) -- "But, as a recent analysis has shown, there is little correlation between a country’s relative economic performance in several dimensions and how 'functional' its government is. In fact, in the six years since the global financial crisis erupted, the US has outperformed advanced countries in terms of growth, unemployment, productivity, and unit labor costs, despite a record-high level of political polarization at the national level."

[Read more](http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/michael-spence-and-david-brady-on-the-remarkably-weak-correlation-between-relative-economic-performance-and-government-effectiveness)