Civil service quality after the crisis: A view of five Asian cases

Asian civil services were once reputed to be among the best in the world, especially due to the economic miracle in East Asia. But when financial collapse and political upheaval hit the region in the late 1990s, government bureaucracies received much of the blame. This article argues that both positions were overstated. Asian civil services were not outstandingly competent in the miracle era. Neither have they been exceptionally deficient in the aftermath of the crisis. Rather, the overview of past and present civil service experience suggests that contextual factors need to be understood in assessing civil service performance and capacity. Global pressures, political openings, and technological advances have pushed civil service performance to a higher standard, but with significant variations among countries. In this regard, the article examines five Asian cases, including Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines.

Notes

Barbara Nunberg, Ph.D., is Sector Manager, Public Sector and Governance, East Asia and the Pacific region, The World Bank, Washington, DC, USA.