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Attempting Civil Service Reform: A Theory‐based Comparison of Policy Processes in M exico and G uatemala
Author(s) -
Romero Antonio
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
latin american policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.195
H-Index - 4
eISSN - 2041-7373
pISSN - 2041-7365
DOI - 10.1111/lamp.12058
Subject(s) - context (archaeology) , politics , public administration , public policy , policy analysis , political science , narrative , service (business) , public relations , public economics , business , economics , marketing , law , paleontology , linguistics , philosophy , biology
This article examines two attempts at changing civil service policy in M exico and G uatemala. The purpose of this study is to understand the factors that determine policy change and stability in the public management policy domain, drawing from an analytical framework based on Kingdon, and Baumgartner and Jones, to account for policy change and stability. The article presents narrative accounts of two initiatives that aimed to enact a civil service law in M exico and another in G uatemala and reveals the institutional configurations that structured the policy processes in both episodes. Policy venues, policy communities, and political parties play key roles in fostering policy change. The study also reveals the roles and interactions of groups and individuals in pursuit of their policy objectives. The activities of policy entrepreneurs as they take advantage of policy windows are particularly relevant. Based on this analysis, explanations for the outcomes are presented, pointing to the determinants of policy change and stability. Beyond the case findings, this article provides an assessment of the ability of two well‐established policy theories to explain policymaking in the Latin American context.