The Politics of Public Sector Performance: Pockets of Effectiveness in Developing Countries

Citation

Hartt, C.M. (2016), "The Politics of Public Sector Performance: Pockets of Effectiveness in Developing Countries", Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management, Vol. 11 No. 4, pp. 301-302. https://doi.org/10.1108/QROM-02-2016-1367

In a world where many publicly owned organizations are considered indolent or ineffective regardless of what type of economy they serve, “Pockets of Effectiveness” (PoEs) are a rare commodity. Michael Roll has found some of these gems in places where we would expect to find corruption, patronage, clientelism and/or dysfunction.

The book centres upon a theoretical base which Roll created. He explains his method of creation from a Grounded Theory approach (no doubt contested and contestable). Building from the work of others and his own research in Nigeria he has created both a definition of a PoE and a method for identifying potential candidates.

The first two chapters are dedicated to the ideas behind the method and the method itself. There is sufficient reference to the empirical in order to keep the reader’s attention while navigating the history of the concept and the method of identification. The technical aspects provide a serviceable explanation of qualitative case building using forms of interviews and other text. More interesting is the theoretical model of an organization which he declares to be a PoE.

In essence these organizations are government owned, yet, they are able to deliver the service or goods they are intended to deliver in an efficient and effective manner fairly to the citizenry of a country that is undeveloped. At times he refers to “developing countries” but there is also reference to “non-developing countries”, “weak”, “failed” or “fragile” states.

Roll sets the stage for a fascinating series of case studies of which he is co-author of only one. For the Business History Scholar there is discussion of pre-Mao China as well as the early years of Taiwan to balance out the more recent examples from Brazil, Nigeria, Suriname and the Gulf States (Persian Gulf). For any qualitative researcher there is rich description of each organization, how it formed and plausible explanations for the development into effectiveness.

The case analyses taken as an entirety provide understanding of the ideas behind the PoE while generating debate. Wil Hout in his chapter on Suriname’s State Oil Company seems to say that Nigeria is not a potential location for a PoE while the two prior chapters are about possible PoEs in Nigeria! This difference of opinion seems to evolve from the precursor requirements for PoE formation in terms of political structure and corruption. Ultimately, the decision seems to lay in ability to get the job done for nearly every citizen.

Most of the cases are compelling. Roll’s chapter on the Nigerian Food and Drug Administration demonstrates how crisis (deaths from use of counterfeit drugs) can cause even the weakest of states to mobilize. Other examples show how globalization can force a patronage or clientist inclined government to permit autonomy for a public enterprise. The case of the Salt Tax Agency in Republican China (between the last Qing Emperor and Mao) presents a means by which foreign lenders can force universal application of regulations and meritocratic employment practices in places where tax avoidance and jobs for friends and family are the norm. In this case we see how foreign rules (which are usually villains in development stories) can be positive forces for change in developing countries.

The requirement for trans-governmental cooperation is a common theme but not in every case. This is the core of PoEs; they have similarities but are not the same. Each national system is different; the levels of political interference, patronage, cronyism and foreign involvement also vary. The picture given is that it is possible to be effective in the face of hostility.

The work draws on theories of effectiveness in liberal democracies. One premise is that cultural colonialism via imposition of the dominant western form of government is not sustainable (even with the fall of the soviet form as opposition). So, the question is “Can a government organization in a non-western country be effective using a westernized definition of effective?”.

The book is worth reading just for inciting the need for thought around this idea. Beyond that the description of the development and details of the method will be useful to anyone considering case-based research.