Public Sector Reform: The Debates
I. Stages in the Developmental State
1. 1950s- Faith in the State
=Industrialization
=economic growth
=modernization
2. 1960s-1970s- Basic Human Needs- growth With Equity
3. Late 1970s- New International Economic Order
=redistribution
=empowerment of south
=equity
===Basic Human Needs vs. New International Economic Order (NIEO) part of the North-South dialogue
4. 1980s- Structural Adjustment and neo-orthodoxy: The Dividing Line: 1983-1984
a. "We are the World" leads to Donor Fatigue
b. Illness and then death of Brezhnev in Soviet Union
c. Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher at the height of their power
5. 1990s- Decentralization: Democracy and Governance
II. Public Sector Reform: The change-
1. Prologue
a. End of assumption- Progress is inevitable
b. Robert MacNamara resigns from the World Bank
c. International institutions abandon basic needs approach
d. International conflict shifts from East West Rivalry and cold war to ethnic, regional and internal conflicts
=Cambodia, Nicaragua, Angola, Mozambique are transitional conflicts
=New "Transitional States"- CIS and Eastern Europe
2. Structural adjustment with a human face
3. Role of NGOs
4. International donors as managers
III. The Issues:
1. The state as national planner
2. How large a state: When is the state sector too big?
3. Issue of state ownership, and unfair competition (international trade)
4. The vagueness of boundaries between government and society:
5. Hidden government: subsidies and entitlements. French Wine and Wisconsin cheese
6. Limitations of constitutions and public sectors- Decline in faith in government institutions in the 20th century
=failure of legislative, executive structures. Loss of control
7. Anti-bureaucracy- the myth of the neutral bureaucrat
8. Attacks on the European Mandarins- European elitist systems of administration
=Permanent Secretary
=Director General
=State Secretary
IV. Reforms:
1. Privatization of the bureaucracy
a. Savas- The key to efficient and effective goods and services
b. Critique: Nelson: impact of international organizations on NGOs- Distortion?
c. Turner and Hulme- Are NGOs and Private sector better than Public Enterprises?
2. Regulations-
a. Deregulation- negative
b. Competition- positive (monopolies vs. utilities)
c. Regulations and Corruption: Klitgaard: Dealing with corruption and culture?
3. Civil Service Reform: Case Studies-South Africa, Botswana, Eritrea, Ethiopia:
a. Distinction- Public Sector Reform vs. Administrative reform
***Purists go for PSR rather than CSR- latter not legitimate- oxymoron
****Problem-"Bureaucrat bashing"
i. a Public Enterprises vs.
ii. Civil Services
iii. Broad issue of Human Resource Development
b. Techniques: Public Sector Reform
i. Budgetary and Fiscal Reforms
===Budgets as plans- Schroeder in Baker (tax vs. spending)
ii. Personnel- records base, motivation, promotion, review, retrenchment, etc. Problem: Collapsed states have no carrots
iii. Structural Reforms- Excessive centralization and politicization
1. Center-reorganizations- move or abolish
2. Decentralization- Botswana example
3. Transfer to local authorities or public corporations
a. devolution
b. deconcentration
c. delegation
d. privatization- what does it mean? Sell, Liquidate, commercialize,
partnership or contract out
4. Cut back: percentage of civil service
===Cutback the civil service-
the infamous 19% first cut-
===Myth of Size- eg. Bureaucracy in Africa small
===Turner and Holm: Bureaucracy and Development
===Is Downsizing- "right sizing" Cutback=management- smaller, or more efficient, more effective
5. Redefinition- "Reinventing Government" (Osborne and Gabler)- steering rather than rowing
6. Strengthen systems of accountability
==-Barzelay and customer
approach
7. Simplification and deregulation
8. Technical- Management Information Systems
===Operational Strategy: Policy Success:
====Plans, projects and programs (Morgan in Baker)
9. Key: Human Resource Development-Training, recruitment, rewards and punishment (qualifications and salaries)
=personnel flexibility and pay for performance
=reform position classification (rank vs. position)
= return to meritocracy
=The Dilemma of Merit: (Picard and Garrity)
=Political-civil service reforms- relational, responsiveness of bureaucrats to politicians
=Common interests: privileges in organization
=Rise of NGOs and multilateral: can you avoid the politicians?
=Miewald: Politics- the critical factor?