Accountability and MDGs: Methodology for measuring government performance for global goals

MDGs are global goals and are powerful tools of international policy because they create a framework of accountability by going beyond stating general objectives and set quantitative, time bound targets against which performance can be measured. This paper challenges the methodology conventionally used to monitor MDG implementation that ask whether the 2015 targets are likely to be met by extrapolating trends since 1990 or 2000, then categorizing countries as on or off track. The paper aims to two broader questions: to demonstrate the relevance of human rights concepts to development policy; and to clarify normative development goals as instruments of international policy.