Bridging the citizen gap: Bureaucratic representation and knowledge linkage in (international) public administration

Eckhard, Steffen

doi:10.1111/gove.12494

Cited by 26 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…We assume that individuals show consistency in their actions and that there are variations between individuals working in the same organization. The assumption is based on a substantial body of literature in psychology and public administration research that focuses on individual learning, routines and decision-making by "streetlevel" bureaucrats (Eckhard 2020;Lipsky 1980;May and Winter 2009). Furthermore, the assumption builds on the evidence presented by Denizer et al (2013) on World Bank TTLs.…”

Section: Three Explanations For the Influence Of Staffmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing performance and winning trust: how World Bank staff shape recipient performance

Heinzel

Liese

2021

Rev Int Organ

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World Bank evaluations show that recipient performance varies substantially between different projects. Extant research has focused on country-level variables when explaining these variations. This article goes beyond country-level explanations and highlights the role of World Bank staff. We extend established arguments in the literature on compliance with the demands of International Organizations (IOs) and hypothesize that IO staff can shape recipient performance in three ways. First, recipient performance may be influenced by the quality of IO staff monitoring and supervision. Second, the leniency and stringency with which IO staff apply the aid agreement could improve recipient performance. Third, recipient performance may depend on whether IO staff can identify and mobilize supportive interlocutors through their networks in the recipient country. We test these arguments by linking a novel database on the tenure of World Bank task team leaders to projects evaluated between 1986 and 2020. The findings are consistent with the expectation that World Bank staff play an important role, but only in investment projects. There is substantial evidence that World Bank staff supervisory ability and country experience are linked to recipient performance in those projects. Less consistent evidence indicates that leniency could matter. These findings imply that World Bank staff play an important role in facilitating implementation of investment projects.

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Section: Three Explanations For the Influence Of Staffmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing performance and winning trust: how World Bank staff shape recipient performance

Heinzel

Liese

2021

Rev Int Organ

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“…af stigveldi, ítarlegu regluverki, miðstýringu og varðveislu gagna. Fraeðimaðurinn Max Weber er þekktastur fyrir kenningar sínar um skrifraeði en hann taldi það einkennast af skynsemi og lögmaeti og vera laust við allar geðþóttaákvarðanir (Eckhard 2020;Weber 1968). Þrátt fyrir þessa kosti taldi Weber mikla haettu á því að kerfi sem vaeri stýrt í anda skrifraeðis myndi smátt og smátt glata upprunalegu markmiði sínu.…”

Section: íSlenskur Vinnumarkaðurunclassified

“…Þetta er í samraemi við þá aðvörun Webers um að kerfi sem byggi á skrifraeði fari smám saman að snúast um sjálft sig, þ.e. kerfisvaeðing þar sem kerfið er aðalatriðið en ekki það hlutverk sem því er aetlað að sinna (Eckhard 2020;Serpa & Ferreira 2019;Weber 1968). Vert er að skoða þetta í samhengi við vottunina en upplifun viðmaelenda gefur til kynna að vottunin snúist frekar um kerfið heldur en fólkið sem vinnur störfin og að þau fái greidd jöfn laun fyrir jafnverðmaet störf.…”

Section: Stjórnmál and Stjórnsýslaunclassified

“…Nú var ferlið mun formfastara auk þeirrar áherslubreytingar sem gaetti í árlegu starfsmannaviðtali. Þá breytingu má einnig tengja við aukið skrifraeði þar sem starfaflokkar vaeru byggðir á stigveldi sem er í takt við aukna kerfisvaeðingu (Eckhard 2020;Serpa & Ferreira 2019;Weber 1968). Starfið sjálft vaeri nú útgangspunktur viðtalsins en ekki störf og frammistaða starfsmanns.…”

Section: Stjórnmál and Stjórnsýslaunclassified

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Þetta er allt mannanna verk: Upplifun stjórnenda á áhrifum jafnlaunavottunar á kjaraumhverfi

Hafsteinsdóttir¹,

Kristjánsdóttir²,

Christiansen³

2020

irpa

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This research reviews the experience of managers regarding the effect of the Equal Pay Certification on wage environment as managers with experience of the Equal Pay Standard were interviewed. The main results imply that the managers experienced increased bureaucracy and systemization, displacement of decision making power and that the Equal Pay Certification might be an illusion. Results also showed a shift in the emphasis in the annual collective agreement right of employees to an employee interview, the flexibility of the certification is underutilized as well as subjective performance assessment of employees and inconsistencies in the procedures of the certification bodies. Even though, at first glance, the Equal Pay Certification seems valid and reliable there are certain factors which can make it possible to meet the requirements for Equal Pay Certification, even though there is a gender pay gap.

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“…While researchers traditionally assume individual-interest representation and positive discrimination as key mechanisms, representing bureaucrats could also provide knowledge of their social groups, which is critical for the performance of their employing agency. Depending on their social origin, bureaucrats can bridge the knowledge gap about a broad range of societal-group interests, including the management of relations and the provision of factual information (Eckhard, 2018). Such linkage has been observed for the national origin of bureaucrats in the EU (Gravier, 2013) and the ethnic origin of South African street-level bureaucrats (Fernandez et al, 2017), and it should also apply to locally recruited bureaucrats in other IOs.…”

Section: How Local Staff Affect Policy Implementation In Peace Operatmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing how peace operations enable or restrict the influence of national staff: Contestation from within?

Eckhard¹

2018

Cooperation and Conflict

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A large share of civilian staff working in international peace operations are nationals of the host state. Academic research has not yet investigated the effect of these locally recruited bureaucrats on peacebuilding. Theoretically, it is argued that to accomplish their missions in complex environments, peace operations require crucial knowledge about local perceptions, politics, and customs. Local staff can have a positive performance impact by soliciting such knowledge. But information advantages create new principal-agent problems. Peace operations have a hard time scrutinizing their employees’ allegiances, and they risk sabotage from within. Empirically, it is shown that peace operations conducted by the United Nations (UN), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and the European Union (EU) differ significantly in how they navigate the ensuing tension by enabling or restricting the influence of their local staff. A new data set on the staffing of 52 peace operations as well as analysis of internal staff policies yields significant variance in the potential of local staff to influence peacebuilding policy implementation, which is most extensive in the OSCE, followed by the UN and the EU. This finding warrants more attention on the role of local staff as information gatekeepers who could be at the center of potential frictions between international and local norms and knowledge.

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Bridging the citizen gap: Bureaucratic representation and knowledge linkage in (international) public administration

Abstract: Bureaucratic representation theory holds that civil servants are not "neutral" in a Weberian sense. Bureaucrats are thought to "actively" represent their communities by trying to make them better off. This article

Cited by 26 publications

References 44 publications

Managing performance and winning trust: how World Bank staff shape recipient performance

Managing performance and winning trust: how World Bank staff shape recipient performance

Þetta er allt mannanna verk: Upplifun stjórnenda á áhrifum jafnlaunavottunar á kjaraumhverfi

Comparing how peace operations enable or restrict the influence of national staff: Contestation from within?

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