Path-Dependent Public Servants: Comparing the Influence of Traditions on Administrative Behavior in Developing Asia

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Van der Wal, Zeger; Mussagulova, Assel; Chen, Chung-An
• 署名单位: National University of Singapore; Nanyang Technological University
• 刊物名称: PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0033-3352
• DOI: 10.1111/puar.13218
• 发表日期: 2021
• 页码: 308-320
• 关键词: service motivation; civil-service; Red tape; VALUES; GOVERNMENT; REFORM; management; performance; POLICY; CONVERGENCE

摘要

This article compares the motivations and attitudes of public servants in Kazakhstan (n = 627) and Pakistan (n = 207) by analyzing quantitative and qualitative survey data. A comparison of these two developing Asian countries with distinct administrative traditions and path dependencies contributes to the public administration literature on developing countries. This literature often treats public servants in developing countries as a single category, with little contextualization of findings. This study finds that despite an overlap in Islamic societal values, public servants' motivations and attitudes differ: lower prosocial proclivity and more aspiration for money in Kazakhstan may be partly explained by the Soviet administrative tradition, while prosocial propensity and lower concern with pay in Pakistan may be attributed to the South Asian tradition. The authors conclude that historical legacies help explain cross-country differences in employee motivation and attitudes. The findings also improve our knowledge about the potential of reforms within the examined conditions.