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Isomorphism and the Limits to African Public Financial Management Reform

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  • Andrews, Matt

    (Harvard University)

Abstract

Many reform results fall below expectations in the development arena, especially in the public sector. Do the reforms just need more time to work better, or should we adjust our expectations? In addressing this question, the current article draws from isomorphism to think about potential limits to reform in developing countries. The theory is considered appropriate for thinking about change processes in the developing world. It presents change as motivated more by the need for legitimacy than efficiency and, in identifying the mechanics of change, points to potential limits of such change: to organizational dimensions that are visible, peripheral and involves concentrated sets of professional agents. These limiting factors are applied to a study of public financial management reform in 31 African countries which shows that some dimensions do appear more limited to isomorphic influence than others. Isomorphic change may indeed face natural limits, something the development community should consider in thinking about how it goes about facilitating and motivating reform in its client countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrews, Matt, 2009. "Isomorphism and the Limits to African Public Financial Management Reform," Working Paper Series rwp09-012, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecl:harjfk:rwp09-012
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    Cited by:

    1. World Bank Group & New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade & Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade & Overseas Development Institute, 2016. "Strengthening Public Financial Management Reform in Pacific Island Countries," World Bank Publications - Reports 25070, The World Bank Group.
    2. Andrews, Matt, 2013. "How Do Governments Get Great?," Working Paper Series rwp13-020, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    3. Andrews, Matt, 2013. "How Do Governments Become Great? Ten Cases, Two Competing Explanations, One Large Research Agenda," WIDER Working Paper Series 091, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    4. Lodewijk Smets & Stephen Knack, 2018. "World Bank Policy Lending and the Quality of Public-Sector Governance," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 67(1), pages 29-54.
    5. Matt Andrews, 2013. "How do Governments get Great?," CID Working Papers 260, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    6. Minga Negash & Tesfaye T. Lemma, 2020. "Institutional pressures and the accounting and reporting of environmental liabilities," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(5), pages 1941-1960, July.
    7. Blum, Jurgen Rene, 2014. "What factors predict how public sector projects perform ? a review of the World Bank's public sector management portfolio," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6798, The World Bank.
    8. Haque, Tobias A. & Knight, David S. & Jayasuriya, Dinuk S., 2012. "Capacity constraints and public financial management in small Pacific Island countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6297, The World Bank.
    9. Wehner, Joachim & de Renzio, Paolo, 2013. "Citizens, Legislators, and Executive Disclosure: The Political Determinants of Fiscal Transparency," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 96-108.
    10. Paulo Reis Mourao & Mihaela Bronić & Branko Stanić, 2020. "Discussing the determinants of online budget transparency based on a spatial regression analysis of Croatian cities and municipalities: Do good neighbours make you better?," International Area Studies Review, Center for International Area Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, vol. 23(3), pages 268-287, September.
    11. Matt Andrews, 2013. "Do International Organizations Really Shape Government Solutions in Developing Countries?," CID Working Papers 264, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    12. Lant Pritchett & Masoomeh Khandan, 2017. "Autonomous Reform vs Global Isomorphism: Explaining Iran’s Success in Reducing Fertility," CID Working Papers 338, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    13. Fritz, Verena & Sweet, Stephanie & Verhoeven, Marijn, 2014. "Strengthening public financial management : exploring drivers and effects," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7084, The World Bank.
    14. Negash, Minga & Lemma, Tesfaye T. & Samkin, Grant, 2019. "Factors impacting accounting research output in developing countries: An exploratory study," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 170-192.
    15. Bunse, Simone & Fritz, Verena, 2012. "Making public sector reforms work : political and economic contexts, incentives, and strategies," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6174, The World Bank.
    16. Matt Andrews, 2013. "How Do Governments Become Great?: Ten Cases, Two Competing Explanations, One Large Research Agenda," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2013-091, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    17. Jurgen Blum & Nick Manning & Vivek Srivastava, 2012. "Public Sector Management Reform : Toward a Problem-Solving Approach," World Bank Publications - Reports 17057, The World Bank Group.
    18. Troisi, Roberta, 2022. "Illegal land use by Italian firms: An empirical analysis through the lens of isomorphism," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    19. Peter Moll & Lodewijk Smets, 2020. "Is It the Journey That Matters? A Fresh Look at the Impact of World Bank Policy Lending," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(7), pages 1194-1228, October.
    20. Peter Boulding & Andrew Mackie & Frans Ronsholt & Stephen Sharples, 2012. "New development: PEFA—what difference has it made?," Public Money & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(1), pages 41-44, January.
    21. Andrews, Matt, 2013. "Do International Organizations Really Shape Government Solutions in Developing Countries?," Working Paper Series rwp13-032, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    22. Nick Manning & Joanna Watkins, 2013. "Targeting Results, Diagnosing the Means," World Bank Publications - Reports 25488, The World Bank Group.
    23. Tobias Akhtar Haque & David Knight & Dinuk Jayasuriya, 2015. "Capacity Constraints and Public Financial Management in Small Pacific Island Countries," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 2(3), pages 609-622, September.

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