Merit-based selection of bureaucrats is central to state capacity building, yet rare in developing countries. Most executives instead favor patronage -political discretion- in public employment. This paper proposes and tests an original theory to explain when executives forsake patronage for...

The article examines governmental policies for the revitalization of the shipbuilding industry in Brazil since the mid-2000s. It analyzes such policies from the perspective of their political-institutional arrangements. In order to evaluate both the political capacities and...

In diesem Bericht werden die Zwischenergebnisse der Begleitforschung 2012 bis 2013 zum Modellvorhaben LandZukunft des Bundesministeriums für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft (BMEL) vorgestellt. Das Modellvorhaben läuft von 2012 bis Ende 2014 in vier aus ursprünglich 17 Landkreisen ausgewählten...

Donors face distinct challenges in operating in fragile states and supporting the building of state capacity. This paper explores one type of assistance - the 'embedding' of highly-skilled staff members within local government agencies - through a unique case study of Finn Church Aid's...

Das Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft suchte mit seinem Modellvorhaben LandZukunft von 2012 bis 2014 nach neuen Wegen, um anhaltende sozioökonomische Probleme in peripheren ländlichen Regionen zu lösen. Dazu sollten das aus der Managementlehre bekannte Instrument des...

COVID-19 has brought to the fore the issue of state preparedness in mitigating health emergencies. This paper problematizes the received wisdom of greater state capacity in mitigating the severity of the pandemic. Based on a case study of West Bengal, a subnational state of India, it shows that...

This paper explores the link between trust in government, policy-making, and compliance. It focuses on a specific channel whereby citizens who are convinced that a policy is worthwhile are more motivated to comply with it. This in turn reduces the government's cost of implementing a policy and...

We study management practices and performance in a representative sample of German municipalities, which provide the bulk of direct administrative services for citizens and firms in Germany. Surveyed municipalities differ substantially in their use of structured management practices, and this...

Formal conceptions of state capacity have mostly focused on indirect measures of state capacity - by, for instance, using the state's fiscal or extractive capacity as a proxy for its overall capacity. Yet, this input or extractive view of state capacity falls short, especially since...