COMPARATIVE PUBLIC

ADMINISTRATION

State of the art & potentials for

configurationalcomparative methods

“Compare or perish”

• Comparison as the very essence of the sciencific method– Without comparisons to make, the mind does not know how to proceed (De Tocqueville, quoted in Almond & Powell 1992:3)

– the construction of a science of administrationdepended upon the success in establishingpropositions that would transcend nationalboundaries (Dahl 1947)

Ambitions of CPA and cpa

• Build and test theories that make usunderstand and predict structures andperformances of p.a.

• Scientific goal and practical purpose• Institutional and policy transfer• Succesful transfer relies on adaptationslessons learned to contingencies of administrative systems

Stringent and relaxed definitionsof CPA

• Textbook comparative design• Allegedly weaker variants

– Dichotomies and typologies– Thick contextual description– Secondary analysis– Single cases

Limits of CPA

• Institutional: time, money, support• Complexity of public administration• Problems of operational definition andmeasurement

• Limited independent data‐sets• Post‐positivism

Sources of optimism for CPA

• Availability of data– Policy diffusing agencies such as OECD, Worldbank, UN

– Peer learning within EU – open method of co‐ordination

– Growth in academic databases – agencies andadministrative reforms

Sources of optimism for CPA

• Advances in comparative documentation• More analytical strategies for theory testing• Time series

Screening and review

• Fitzpatrick et al. (2011): QCA not mentioned• CPA frameworks (based on Heady, 1966)• a. Institutional: focus on the design and role of political structures 

in public administration; governance arrangements, networks, citizen participation; administrative agencies; or legal issues found in constitutions, legislation, executive orders, or regulation.

• b. administrative processes: management functions or organizational procedures to implement public policies. This includes leadership, HRM, budget and financial management, information systems, policy‐formulation, policy or program implementation, and oversight,accountability and evaluation

• c. cultural frameworks: values, views, norms, or attitudes of the regions being studied or individuals or groups in the region

Journals surveyed for QCA applications

Step 1: Identification of potentially interesting articles• English language journals (no conference papers & book

chapters): – 28 public administration journals of Fitzpatrick et al. (2011)– Social Sciences Citation Index

• disciplines: (a) public administration, (b) political science and (c) management

– COMPASSS database 

• Key words: qualitative comparative * OR QCA OR crisp set OR csQCA OR multi value QCA OR mvQCA OR fuzzy set QCA OR fsQCA OR set theory OR configuration*

• Time of publication: …‐ 2011

Journals surveyed for QCA applicationsStep 2: Content analysis• Articles need to address public administration content: i.e. “activities

required to deliver public policies”• PA frameworks of Heady, 1966 as point of reference• Outcome + majority of conditions should be PA relevant• Excluded: 

– Substantive policy research!– Articles that dealt solely with political science issues– Meta‐articles without PA relevant QCA application

Resulting: 29 articles (1993‐2011)• Compare with COMPASSS database 

– “comparative politics” (n=66)– “business and economics” (n=31)– “management and organization” (n=14)

Dates of publication

Comparative frameworks used

A: InstitutionalB: Administrative processesC: Culture

QCA niche in comparison with CPA general (Fitzpatrick et al., 2011)

1. Reform2. Accountability, performance monitoring, 

evaluation3. NPM4. Ethics, corruption, public sector values5. Budgeting, public finance6. Decentralization7. Development

8. Implementation of program/policy9. Local government10. HRM11. Multilevel governance12. Institutional design13. Citizen participation14. Common pool resource management15. Regulatory governance16. Networks

Locations of research

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Africa Asia Europe USA LatinAmerica

QCA nicheFitzpatrick

Units of analysis

Techniques used

62%

38%

Only QCA

QCA in combination with"quantitative method(s)"

Number of conditions

5(34% of the articles)

Size of the sample

Proportion conditions/cases

31-40%31% of the articles

21-30%24% of the articles

Proportion of articles testinghypotheses

Taking stock: preliminary insights

• Still limited number of applications in 25 years• Dominant focus on cpa (normative, applied) rather than

on CPA (theory building; typology building)• Limited replication of research transferability of

findings?• Limited use of available databases

– MESO level: e.g. agencies; – MICRO: e.g. public service motivation

• But: increasing number of institutionalized initiativespromoting QCA applications (e.g. IRSPM; Academy of Management; ECPR; etc.)…

MORE INFORMATION?

Prof. Dr. Marleen Brans & Dra. Valérie Pattyn

Public Management InstituteK.U.Leuven, Belgium

marleen.brans@soc.kuleuven.bevalerie.pattyn@soc.kuleuven.be