Activating the Big Man: Social Status, Patronage Networks, and Pro-Social Behavior in African Bureaucracies

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Harris, Adam S.; Meyer-Sahling, Jan-Hinrik; Mikkelsen, Kim Sass; Schuster, Christian
• 署名单位: University of London; University College London; University of Nottingham; Roskilde University
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION RESEARCH AND THEORY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1053-1858
• DOI: 10.1093/jopart/muac009
• 发表日期: 2023
• 页码: 94-105
• 关键词: POLITICAL-ECONOMY; ethnic diversity; clientelism; POWER; CORRUPTION; categorization; motivation; IDENTITY; merit

摘要

Public service delivery by African states is often characterized as particularist, favoring ethnic, personal or political networks of those inside the state over universalist, pro-social services to citizens. One explanation for particularist service delivery focuses on societal patronage norms, with Big Men providing for members of their networks. Despite the prominence of this line of reasoning and the anecdotal prevalence of Big Men in politics and society, hardly any research has quantitatively assessed the effects of big man governance inside the state. Through a behavioral experiment with over 1,300 Ugandan bureaucrats, our article seeks to address this gap. In the experiment, we find that activating social status-that is, big man status-in bureaucrats embedded in patronage networks significantly curbs their pro-social behavior. Our article contributes an important empirical micro-foundation to help explain one cause of limited universal service delivery by bureaucrats.