Civil Servant Attitudes Toward Administrative Rules and Procedures: A Comparative Analysis of Brazil and the United States

Abstract

This study represents an empirical investigation of civil servant orientations toward the regulation of bureaucratic conduct and discretion in a developing country—Brazil—and in an advanced capitalist country—the United States. Survey findings suggest that Brazilian civil servants are far more cautious and more likely to oppose the use of discretion than a comparable sample of American civil servants. Factors such as personal/background characteristics and value orientations were also investigated for their impact upon orientations toward the use of discretion, producing evidence of both common associations and some nation—specific effects.