Democratization and the State: Competence, Control, and Performance in Indonesia's Civil Service

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title Democratization and the State: Competence, Control, and Performance in Indonesia's Civil Service
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Jan Henryk Pierskalla
SeriesElements in Political Economy
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:75
Category/GenrePolitical economy
ISBN/Barcode 9781009264815
ClassificationsDewey:320.9598
Audience
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Illustrations Worked examples or Exercises; Worked examples or Exercises

Publishing Details

Publisher Cambridge University Press
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publication Date 15 December 2022
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

Does democratization lead to more meritocracy in the civil service? The Element argues that electoral accountability increases the value of competence over personal loyalty in the civil service. While this resembles an application of merit principles, it does not automatically reduce patronage politics or improve public goods provision. Competent civil servants are often used to facilitate the distribution of clientelistic goods at mass scale to win competitive elections. The selection of competent but less loyal civil servants requires the increased use of control mechanisms, like the timing of promotions, to ensure their compliance. The Element tests these claims using novel micro-level data on promotions in Indonesia's civil service before and after democratization in 1999. The Element shows that national- and local-level elections led to increased promotion premiums for educated civil servants, and simultaneously generated electoral cycles in the timing of promotions, but did little to improve public goods provision.