MANAGERICAL REFORMS AND DEVELOPMENTAL STATE CAPACITY

Abstract

This paper analyzes the impact that the ‘policy transfer’ of managerial reforms associated with the New Public Management (NPM) has had upon enhancing the capacity of the broadly defined ‘developmental state’. The paper begins by outlining the key principles of the NPM-type managerial reforms proposed to governments as a response to the challenges of wider public sector reform. Section 2 analyzes the extent to which these managerial reforms have actually been implemented around the world, with special reference to the experience of countries where they have either been modified or abandoned. Section 3 addresses the issue of ‘policy transfer’ by examining the extent to which aid-dependent countries have been more prone than other countries to adopt such managerial reforms. Section 4 outlines the major features of the developmental state, with a particular focus on the nature of the bureaucracy. Section 5 provides a critical assessment of the extent to which the introduction of managerial reforms can enhance the overall developmental capacity of the state. The final section offers some broader conclusions.