Do Administrative Reforms Improve Public Service Delivery? Institutional Evidence from Bangladesh

Abstract

The study explores the role of administrative reforms in enhancing the delivery of public services in Bangladesh with respect to Annual Performance Agreement (APA), e-government portals and the Health Sector Performance Management System (PMS) in central offices, regulatory offices and district/upazila offices. A qualitative multiple-case study approach was used to triangulate data collected using 40 semi-structured interviews, five field observations and 65 administrative documents. Findings show the reform adoption is highest in the central ministries (APA 95, E-Gov 80, Health PMS 90) and decreases at the local offices (APA 70, E-Gov 55, Health PMS 40). In line with this, the outcomes of services in terms of efficiency, timeliness, citizen satisfaction, and accountability also follow a similar gradient with the scores of 4.2-4.4 and 3.6-3.8 at central and local offices respectively. The reform effectiveness is mediated by institutional factors including bureaucratic discretion, political influence, donor support, and professional norms which emphasize on institutional alignment, leadership and local capacity. Sectoral variation reveals that reforms that conform to the bureaucratic routines have the highest adoption, and health-sector reforms are more restrictive. Reports indicate that modernization of administration, digitalization, and capacity-building should be combined in order to convert reforms into actual service delivery enhancements. This research provides empirical evidence, institutionally based, to policy makers and scholars on the circumstances under which reforms are successful, partially successful, or fail in the context of developing countries.