Building Enforcement Capacity: Evidence from the Mexican Civil Service Reform

Public Administration and Development 34, 389–405 (2014)

17 Pages Posted: 18 Sep 2015

See all articles by Fernando Nieto Morales

Fernando Nieto Morales

El Colegio de México

Liesbet Heyse

University of Groningen

Maria Del Carmen Pardo

El Colegio de México

Rafael Wittek

University of Groningen

Date Written: December 31, 2014

Abstract

Building enforcement capacity, that is, attaining and sustaining control in order to implement changes, is crucial for the success of public management reforms. However, this aspect of public management reform does not receive much theoretical or empirical attention. This paper analyzes the process of building enforcement capacity for the case of the Mexican Professional Civil Service reform. Although this reform experienced several complications (e.g., limited support, resources, and credibility), important goals were attained and some control was achieved. We study how officials attained control over implementation through the adaptive management of combinations of different types of control strategies (regulatory, normative, and procedural). The case study, focused on the analysis of in-depth interviews with the highest officials involved in the implementation of this reform, finds evidence for three combinations of strategies next to a general pattern characterized by a trade-off between compliance and coordination. This trade-off shows that the process of building enforcement capacity may affect the goals of the reform, deviating from lawmakers’ original intentions.

Keywords: administrative reform; civil service reform; enforcement capacity; implementation; Mexico

JEL Classification: H11, M14

Suggested Citation

Nieto Morales, Fernando and Heyse, Liesbet and Del Carmen Pardo, Maria and Wittek, Rafael, Building Enforcement Capacity: Evidence from the Mexican Civil Service Reform (December 31, 2014). Public Administration and Development 34, 389–405 (2014), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2662195

Fernando Nieto Morales

El Colegio de México ( email )

Camino al Ajusco 20,
Pedregal de Santa Teresa
México, D.F.
Mexico

HOME PAGE: http://www.colmex.mx

Liesbet Heyse

University of Groningen ( email )

P.O. Box 800
9700 AH Groningen, Groningen 9700 AV
Netherlands

Maria Del Carmen Pardo

El Colegio de México ( email )

Camino al Ajusco 20,
Pedregal de Santa Teresa
México, D.F.
Mexico

Rafael Wittek (Contact Author)

University of Groningen ( email )

Department of Sociology
Grote Rozenstraat 31
Groningen, 9712TG
Netherlands
+31503636282 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.rafaelwittek.eu/

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