Publication: From Patronage to a Professional State : Bolivia Institutional and Governance Review, Volume 2. Annexes
Date
2000-08-25
ISSN
Published
2000-08-25
Author(s)
World Bank
Abstract
The study, an institutional, and
governance review of Bolivia, describes the transformation
of the country's political economy as of the 1980s, the
aim for consistent macroeconomic stability, and, the
consolidation of the democratic political regime. However,
despite a number of bold reforms to develop market-oriented
systems, and in contrast with government efforts, the
quality of public services remained low. Namely, because
public sector reforms were not implemented, and because of
symptomatic institutional weaknesses; for although
assistance was provided to modernize the civil service, and
improve public administration, the lack of government
commitment to a changing program focus, precluded noticeable
results. The current reform agenda has identified the need
for state modernization, governance and accountability, and
judicial reform, addressed within the National Integrity
Plan, to combat corruption, and other symptoms of public
sector dysfunction. The study presents a blunt vision of
Bolivian public administration, through the absence of a
functioning bureaucracy, reviewing the legal framework and
organizational structure, with an emphasis on the
"informality" of public administration, - a
challenge for institutional development. But the deeper
causes of poor public sector performance, lie on the
patrimonial dynamics of party politics. Recommendations
include parallel advances between public, and market sector
reforms, reliable external controls, and strengthened
capacity of the public sector.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2000. From Patronage to a Professional State : Bolivia Institutional and Governance Review, Volume 2. Annexes. © Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/14963 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”