civil service

What was the role of state capacity in the economic development of the US?

Highly competitive examinations for public service recruitment in India have detrimental economic effects

Family ties to non-elected bureaucrats distort public employment outcomes, and standard anti-nepotism policies are ineffective at preventing their negative influence

Providing performance feedback on delays in public service delivery speeds up bureaucrats, but faster delivery does not decrease corruption. Instead, positive feedback to well-performing bureaucrats worsens corruption.

Political interference in the bureaucracy is generally viewed with suspicion. However, in India bureaucrats implement MNREGA much better in places where politicians are able to claim credit for improvements.

Personality tests and psychological profiling offer innovative ways for cutting corruption in the public sector of developing countries

Historical data from Kenya show that when an ethnic group gains power, public servants of that group may be emboldened to misbehave

Evidence from Russia shows that through appropriate policy design, policymakers can overcome existing capacity challenges within bureaucracies

Insights into the lives and experiences of civil servants in developing countries