The red line measures deviations from predicted values, which are represented by the blue line. Ignore the gap between the red and blue lines and concentrate on how closely the red line centers toward 0. The closer to 0, the less the deviation of the region's observed score on Rule of Law from its predicted score.

 

As shown in the graph, countries in different regions of the world differ substantially on their actual Rule of Law scores and their predicted scores from Equation 9.1 in Party Systems and Country Governance.

 

 

(Due to data corrections, scores on this graph differ slightly from those published in Figure C-1.) Consider the African countries first. As a group, the fifteen countries in Western Africa average -0.93 for their predicted scores on Rule of Law, but on average they perform 0.20 points better than predicted. Eastern African countries also performed somewhat better than predicted, but that was not true in the rest of Africa.

The Asian countries tell a mostly similar story. The nine countries in Southern Asia average -0.66 on predicted scores on Rule of Law but perform 0.15 points better than predicted. Countries in the other Asian regions perform somewhat worse than predicted. Australia, New Zealand, and island countries in the Pacific Ocean scored on average above predictions.

In the Americas, only countries in North American (Canada, the U.S., and Bermuda) showed positive deviations. European countries were divided. Those in the east and south performed below predictions while those in the north and west performed above predictions.