How Financial Resources Affect the Autonomy of International Public Administrations

Abstract

Voluntary contributions -often earmarked for specific purposes -have become an indispensable source of revenue for international organizations (IOs) and the UN organizations in particular. While the reasons for this trend are regularly studied, its effects on the internal functioning of the organization (especially on the 'international public administration' (IPA) as the organization's secretariat) remain unclear. Given this gap, we study the consequences of increasing financial dependence for the autonomy of IPA staff. Using financial and personnel data of 15 UN agencies over time, our results are in line with the intuitive expectation that more financial resources in the form of voluntary contributions increase the number of staff. We also find evidence, however, that the more an organization depends on voluntary resources (within its broader financial portfolio), the more it reduces the ratio of permanent staff among its total workforce in the subsequent years. The underlying adaption of IPAs' recruitment and career structures to growing financial insecurities has important implications for the autonomy of international bureaucrats and needs to be considered also in terms of its long-term impact on administrative professionalism and organizational performance. Policy Implications• The UN organizations are generally responsive to changes in their fiscal environment. The increasing dependence on voluntary funding leads them to adjust their staffing practices by reducing 'long-term liabilities' in the form of permanent staff.• The observed trend has potentially negative consequences for IPAs' ability to fulfill their mandate because the institutional memory and policy expertise of staff suffers.• Changing staffing patterns may also impair the performance of IPAs as it becomes more difficult for them to attract qualified personnel and keep their current staff motivated.

Measuring the Empowerment of International Organizations: The Evolution of Financial and Staff Capabilities

“… Note that our measure of capabilities is indifferent to the issue of IO autonomy. As discussed by Ege and Bauer () and Graham () different financial sources may limit IO autonomy. …”

“…Along these lines, Eckhardt and Dijkstra () demonstrate how IO budgets shape the implementation of international policies; Abbott et al. () show that IOs’ material resources affect the extent to which they cooperate with intermediary actors to achieve their governance targets; Graham () highlights how different methods of funding shape the nature of IO governance; Ege and Bauer () investigate how different financial sources affect IO autonomy; and Squatrito () examines the resource management design of international courts. Similarly, research focusing on IOs as bureaucracies (Trondal et al., ) has demonstrated how international bureaucrats shape IOs’ institutional design (Johnson, ), behavior (Barnett and Finnemore, ), and policy output (Weaver, ).…”

“… Recent research has begun to distinguish different categories of IO staff, such as professional staff, which is mainly involved in policy‐related work, and service staff, which provides administrative support (see, for instance, Ege and Bauer, ). We include both groups because they contribute – albeit in different ways – to staff capabilities. …”

“… For a discussion of the potential effects of this changing mix of financial sources see Ege and Bauer () and Graham (). …”

Learning from the Commission case: The comparative study of management change in international public administrations

“…Such understanding is particularly important at a time when donors are increasingly questioning the financial contributions they make to IGOs. This is not only eroding IGOs’ immediate funding basis (Goetz and Patz ) but also challenging their problem‐solving capacities and ability to fulfil their mandates (Ege and Bauer ).…”