Everything has to change for things to stay the same

“New” approaches confront “old challenges” in public sector reform

Pablo Yanguas University of Manchester

Badru Bukenya Makerere University

DSA Conference

Panel - “The Pursuit of State Effectiveness”

1 November 2014

1. The failure of the PSR agenda

2. “Old” challenges

3. “New” approaches

4. Time for an old-ish PSR strategy?

[ 1 ]

The failure of PSR

1. The failure of PSR

Four “generations” of PSR

Structural adjustment (1980s)

Good governance & incentives (1990s)

Access to services (& ease of doing business) (2000s)

Public provision capacity (post-2015?)

1. The failure of PSRThe Public Sector Reform Agenda

Component Aims

Civil service and

administrative reform

High-performing and affordable civil service managed in an

efficient, nondiscretionary, and transparent manner

Public expenditure and

financial management

Good management and discipline in the allocation of resources

according to policy priorities

Anticorruption and

transparency

Accountability and transparency in the management of resources

to discourage the use of public office for private gain

Tax administrationImproved revenue performance through an equitable and efficient

tax service

Participation and co-

production

Efficient and accountable service delivery through public-private

partnerships

DecentralisationTransfer of political, administrative, and fiscal authority to sub-

national levels of government

1. The failure of PSR

World Bank 2008 evaluation

Some success in PFM and tax administration, much lower in civil service and anti-corruption:

CS: “lack of a coherent strategy”, “inherent political difficulty”, “weak diagnostic work”

AC: “indirect measures” had some success; “direct measures … rarely succeeded, as they often lacked the necessary support from political elites and the judicial system.”

1. The failure of PSR

Matt Andrews (2013)Of 80 countries receiving PSR support between 2007 and 2009, fewer than 40% registered improved institutional indicators; a third stayed the same; and a quarter actually declined

Pritchett, Woolcock & Andrews (2013)

“Looking like a state: Techniques of persistent failure in state capability for implementation”

[ 2 ]

“Old” challenges

2. “Old” challenges

World Bank 2008 evaluation

“Most developing countries today (such as Western Europe and the United States 150 years ago) have political systems that depend fundamentally on patronage. Some countries have progressed more quickly in recent years, but an open dialogue about the realistic expectations has been missing.”

2. “Old” challenges

Chasing an ideal-type

Rationality (Weber, Evans & Rauch, Fukuyama)

Restraint (Weber, Finer)

Autonomy (Evans, Fukuyama)

VS…

2. “Old” challenges

The subversive nature of Weberian bureaucracy

Technical recruitment Equality of treatment Professional culture

“levelling” of status

“Everywhere bureaucracy foreshadows mass democracy”

2. “Old” challenges

A history of “persistent failure”

“Juridical statehood” vs “empirical statehood” (Jackson & Rosberg 1982)

Neo-Patrimonialism (van de Walle 2001)

A Weberian façade

A patrimonial structure

2. “Old” challenges

Political and moral economy of reform

Administrative patrimonialism

Public corruption

Political capture

2. “Old” challenges

Assumptions and Challenges of Public Sector Reform

Assumptions Challenges Evidence

RationalityAdministrative

patrimonialism

Isolated reform efforts, persistent

informal practices, personal

disincentives to enforcement.

Restraint Public corruption

Disempowered reporting, social

sanction of corruption, political

interference.

Autonomy Political capture

Regime-state confusion, merging of

the public and private, lack of

bureaucratic autonomy.

[ 3 ]

“New” approaches

3. “New” approaches

From “best practice” to “best fit”

Three flawed assumptions (Englebert & Tull 2004) Western institutions can be transplanted to Africa Local elites want to cooperate with donors Donors can support long-term reform

“Good enough governance” (Grindle 2004)

“Square peg reforms in round hole governments” (Andrews 2013)of them” requires unpacking the “PEA of us”

3. “New” approaches

Leadership(It’s the commitment, stupid!)

Basic claim: Political commitment and capacity at the top is essential for reform

Sample reform strategies:

Executive office capacity-building

Performance contracts

Executive communications and agenda management

Typical case: Tony Blair’s Africa Governance Initiative

3. “New” approaches

Leadership(It’s the commitment, stupid!)

Challenges:

– Islands of excellence

– Short political cycles

– Reforms linked to political gains

– Incentive to misreport

3. “New” approaches

Social accountability(It’s the participation, stupid!)

Basic claim: citizen participation and government transparency can increase demand for public sector effectiveness

Sample reform strategies: Participatory planning and budgeting Open government Co-production

Typical case: Open Government Partnership

3. “New” approaches

Social accountability(It’s the participation, stupid!)

Challenges:

– The politics of state-society relations

– Little impact on existing social capital

– Success tends to be linked to traditional forms of accountability (i.e. elections)

3. “New” approaches

Policy adaptation(It’s the iteration, stupid!)

Basic claim: Replication of foreign templates results in “isomorphic mimicry”, whereby the form is copied but the substance remains the same

Sample reform strategies: Problem identification through dialogue Central-local collective action (APPP) Iterative design

Typical case: Problem-driven iterative adaptation (PDIA)

3. “New” approaches

Policy adaptation(It’s the iteration, stupid!)

Challenges:

– Experimentation tends to happen under political leadership

– Local institutions may be incompatible with reform aims

– Generating local collective action is in itself another collective action problem

3. “New” approachesNew Approaches to Public Sector Reform

Approaches Expectations Evidence

Leadership

Executive co-ordination and

monitoring increases

performance.

Short-term political incentives

driving policy; “developmental

patrimonialism”.

Social

accountability

Government transparency

and citizen participation

increases demand for good

governance.

Citizens don’t have the capacity or

interest to police low-level

bureaucratic malpractice.

Policy

adaptation

Innovative and adaptive

problem-solving increases

performance.

Adaptation relies heavily on pre-

existing political will and reliable

capacity for evaluation.

[ 4 ]

Time for an “old-ish” strategy?

4. An “old-ish” strategy?

Early days for new approaches

They are likely to work better in tandem

Committed leadership coupled with strong social accountability, transparency initiatives which give rise to innovative reforms guided by clear vision, and policy adaptation driven by long-term political commitment open to public criticism

These hypotheses need to be tested

4. An “old-ish” strategy?

ESID’s PSR project

4 countries: Ghana, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda Time frame: 15-20 years 5 core public sector functions:

Coordination Public financial management Public/civil service management Auditing Anti-corruption

Two implementation dimensions: Mandate Practice

4. An “old-ish” strategy?

4. An “old-ish” strategy?

ESID’s PSR project

Intervening variables 4 reform approaches:

Executive control Social accountability Policy adaptation Institution building

Elite commitment (policy, implementation)

Political settlement of the PSR policy domain Elite dynamics Elite ideas Local-transnational

4. An “old-ish” strategy?

Lacklustre PSR performance is not about having the wrong goals, but the wrong frame for intervention and assessment

PSR – state-building – is a hard, long-term struggle between tradition and change: building new institutions, overcoming entrenched social norms, and attracting the ire of those who stand to profit from informality

The “failure” of the PSR development agenda lies in the mistaken assumption that contentious goals could be achieved in the span of a three- or five-year programme

The failure of PSR was virtually inevitable

4. An “old-ish” strategy?

“Old” challenges call for a clear political strategy

HOWEVER:

“New” approaches feel like

short-term fixes to donor problems

4. An “old-ish” strategy?

Embattled reformers need strategic political support:

sustained over the long institution building cycle courageous enough to build reform coalitions within and

beyond the public sector itself acceptant of the risk of displeasing some actors

This is what local reform advocates doAND what donors actually do when they support

civil society organisations and bureaucrats

4. An “old-ish” strategy?

Something has to change for things

NOT to stay the same

Thank you

www.effective-states.org/psr

www.effective-states.org/tag/public-sector-reform/