Latin America: Public management concepts and developments

Abstract

The evolution of public administration in Latin America since the early 20th century can be described as successive attempts of modernization and adaptation to new political and socioeconomic circumstances. Much of the push for these reforms has come either from international inspirations – e.g., the “progressive movement” in the United States and the “New Public Management” arrangements – or from episodes of institutional change, which are common in a region marked by successive cycles of democratic, dictatorial, and populist regimes. Yet by the second decade of the 21st century, these multiple waves of transformation have not entirely revamped practices which are deeply embedded in the public administration of Latin American countries, such as patrimonialism, the existence of a bureaucratic culture that inhibits innovation at the public management level, and the high level of centralization in the decision-making process.