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Explaining Positive Deviance in Public Sector Reforms in Development

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  • Andrews, Matt

Abstract

Public sector reforms are commonplace in developing countries. Much of the literature about these reforms reflects on their failures. This paper asks about the successes and investigates which of two competing theories best explain why some reforms are positive deviants: “solution- and leader-driven change” (SLDC) and “problem-driven iterative adaptation” (PDIA). The theories are used to analyze data emerging from a case survey involving thirty cases from Princeton University’s Innovations for Successful Society (ISS) program. The bulk of evidence from this study supports a PDIA explanation, but there is reason to believe that SLDC hypotheses also have value.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrews, Matt, 2015. "Explaining Positive Deviance in Public Sector Reforms in Development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 197-208.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:74:y:2015:i:c:p:197-208
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2015.04.017
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Matt Andrews, 2013. "How do Governments get Great?," CID Working Papers 260, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    2. Thomas C. Beierle & David M. Konisky, 2000. "Values, conflict, and trust in participatory environmental planning," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 19(4), pages 587-602.
    3. Andrews, Matt & Pritchett, Lant & Woolcock, Michael, 2013. "Escaping Capability Traps Through Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA)," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 234-244.
    4. Grindle, Merilee S., 1997. "Divergent cultures? When public organizations perform well in developing countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 481-495, January.
    5. World Bank, 2009. "Improving Effectiveness and Outcomes for the Poor in Health, Nutrition, and Population," World Bank Publications - Reports 10573, The World Bank Group.
    6. Andrews,Matt, 2013. "The Limits of Institutional Reform in Development," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107016330, October.
    7. Nilima Gulrajani & Willy McCourt & David K. Leonard, 2010. "‘Pockets’ of effective agencies in weak governance states: Where are they likely and why does it matter?," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 30(2), pages 91-101, May.
    8. Andrews, Matt, 2010. "How Far Have Public Financial Management Reforms Come in Africa?," Working Paper Series rwp10-018, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    9. Andrews, Matt, 2013. "How Do Governments Get Great?," Working Paper Series rwp13-020, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    10. Lant Pritchett & Michael Woolcock & Matt Andrews, 2013. "Looking Like a State: Techniques of Persistent Failure in State Capability for Implementation," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(1), pages 1-18, January.
    11. Lemos, Maria Carmen & de Oliveira, Joao Lucio Farias, 2004. "Can Water Reform Survive Politics? Institutional Change and River Basin Management in Ceara, Northeast Brazil," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(12), pages 2121-2137, December.
    12. Bond, Richard & Hulme, David, 1999. "Process Approaches to Development: Theory and Sri Lankan Practice," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(8), pages 1339-1358, August.
    13. World Bank, 2011. "The World Bank Annual Report 2011 [Banco Mundial - informe anual 2011 : reseña del ejercicio]," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2378.
    14. Andrews, Matthew, 2008. "Creating Space for Effective Political Engagement in Development," Working Paper Series rwp08-015, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    15. Matt Andrews, 2010. "How Far Have Public Financial Management Reforms Come in Africa?," CID Working Papers 208, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    16. David Brady & Michael Spence, 2010. "Leadership and Growth : Commission on Growth and Development," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2404.
    17. Andrews, Matthew R., 2010. "How Far Have Public Financial Management Reforms Come in Africa?," Scholarly Articles 4448885, Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
    18. Garud, Raghu & Karnoe, Peter, 2003. "Bricolage versus breakthrough: distributed and embedded agency in technology entrepreneurship," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 277-300, February.
    19. Kim S. Cameron, 1986. "Effectiveness as Paradox: Consensus and Conflict in Conceptions of Organizational Effectiveness," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 32(5), pages 539-553, May.
    20. Boubakri, Narjess & Cosset, Jean-Claude & Guedhami, Omrane, 2009. "From state to private ownership: Issues from strategic industries," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 367-379, February.
    21. Anuradha Joshi & Mick Moore, 2004. "Institutionalised Co-production: Unorthodox Public Service Delivery in Challenging Environments," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(4), pages 31-49.
    22. Andrews, Matthew R. & McConnell, Jesse & Wescott, Alison, 2010. "Development as Leadership-led Change," Scholarly Articles 4449099, Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
    23. Francis Owusu, 2006. "On Public Organizations in Ghana: What Differentiates Good Performers from Poor Performers?," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 18(3), pages 471-485.
    24. Moore, Mick, 2014. "Revenue Reform and Statebuilding in Anglophone Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 99-112.
    25. Gore, Charles, 2000. "The Rise and Fall of the Washington Consensus as a Paradigm for Developing Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 789-804, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Andrews, Matt & Pritchett, Lant & Woolcock, Michael, 2017. "Building State Capability: Evidence, Analysis, Action," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198747482.
    2. Matt Andrews & Lant Pritchett & Michael Woolcock, 2015. "The Challenge of Building (Real) State Capability," CID Working Papers 306, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    3. Hoey, Lesli, 2017. "Reclaiming the Authority to Plan: How the Legacy of Structural Adjustment Affected Bolivia’s Effort to Recentralize Nutrition Planning," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 100-112.
    4. Lawson, Andrew & Harris, Jamelia, 2023. "Is the problem driven iterative adaptation approach (PDIA) a panacea for public financial management reform? Evidence from six African countries," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 31(C).
    5. Matt Andrews & Lant Pritchett & Michael Woolcock, 2015. "Doing Problem Driven Work," CID Working Papers 307, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    6. Matt Andrews, 2015. "Has Sweden Injected Realism into Public Financial Management Reforms in Partner Countries?," CID Working Papers 303, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    7. Peiffer, Caryn & Armytage, Rosita, 2019. "Searching for success: A mixed methods approach to identifying and examining positive outliers in development outcomes," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 97-107.
    8. World Bank, 2018. "World Development Report 2018 [Rapport sur le développement dans le monde 2018]," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 28340.
    9. Ismoil Khujamkulov, 2024. "Public finance management architecture in Tajikistan: International reform advice and domestic reform practice," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(1), pages 109-126, January.
    10. Fox, Jonathan & Sullivan Robinson, Rachel & Hossain, Naomi, 2023. "Pathways towards power shifts: State-society synergy," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    11. Caryn Peiffer & Rosita Armytage & Heather Marquette & Pius Gumisiriza, 2021. "Lessons from reducing bribery in Uganda’s health services," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 39(5), pages 721-739, September.
    12. Matt Andrews & Lant Pritchett & Michael Woolcock, 2016. "Doing Iterative and Adaptive Work," CID Working Papers 313, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    13. Atolia, Manoj & Loungani, Prakash & Marquis, Milton & Papageorgiou, Chris, 2020. "Rethinking development policy: What remains of structural transformation?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    14. Wennmann, Achim, 2023. "Global Governance auf städtischer Ebene in Zeiten radikaler Ungewissheit," Global Governance Spotlight 3/2023, Stiftung Entwicklung und Frieden (SEF), Bonn.
    15. Fox, Jonathan, 2020. "Contested terrain: International development projects and countervailing power for the excluded," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    16. Andrews, Matt, 2015. "Has Sweden Injected Realism into Public Financial Management Reforms in Partner Countries?," Working Paper Series 15-063, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.

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