Has the universal model for reform of the civil service in developing countries failed? What other paths of reform are now available? This paper presented at the 11th International Anti-Corruption Conference in Seoul, Republic of Korea, analyses the attempts that have been made to reform the civil services in developing countries.
These are often characterised by large, politicised and inefficient bureaucracies where corruption is the norm. The reforms usually applied tend to replicate the model of the advanced countries. These merit-based reforms, including entrance to the service based on competitive exams and protection of civil servants from arbitrary removal, have often failed. The World Bank itself, one of the leading donors, has acknowledged the failure of its policy in several reports.
The study of the historical reform process of civil services in advanced countries is helpful in understanding why the reform process is not working in developing countries. In particular, it shows that:
- Reforms work when they are moved by powerful external forces. The emergence of the merit systems in the Anglo-Saxon countries was due to changing political and economic circumstances and the need for a more efficient way of delivering services on the part of the government, while in France it was the Revolution that abolished privileged positions in the civil service.
- Civil service reforms evolved in different ways in different countries and they took a number of decades to become fully implemented.
- Compared to the old European states, the size of modern governments in developing countries is too large, as well as that of their civil services. It is therefore very difficult to reduce high levels of employment and the power of strong interest groups that tend to maintain their privileges.
The policy forming community has failed to understand the complex political situation of developing countries, concentrating only on the technical aspects of the reforms; it has also paid too little attention to the lessons of history. The donors need not engineer meritocracy but understand the different socio- political situations and adapt reforms consequently. It is therefore necessary to:
- Change the mindset and accept reform failures more openly.
- Develop a more balanced view of the advantages and disadvantages of merit and patronage systems, avoiding the ‘merit trap’, especially when political circumstances are against it.
- Rethink the issue of lifelong tenure for all civil servants.
- Produce more information about politics, history and contemporary successful reforms.
- Think of alternative approaches, such as partial solutions where merit and political considerations are mixed together (hybrid appointments) or selective reforms where merit – based rules are introduced gradually and only in specific agencies.
