Is the sucess of democratization efforts in developing countries tied to the quality of public administration? Based on an evaluation to the quality of public administration? Based on an evaluation of tree Central American countries (Honduras, Panama, and Costa Rica), Donald Klingner claims that democratization and public personnel management are closely related. Although each contry's development must be viewed in the light of its own conditions, public personnel management in these conties has evolved throug a relatively uniform proces, in these conties has evolved through a relatively uniform process, in threee stages: (1) political patronage; (2) a transition to merit systems marked by passage of a civil service law, creation of an effevtive civil service agency, and elaboration of effective personnel policies and procedures; and (3) a dynamic equilibrium among the desirable but contradictory objectives that equilibrium among the personnel management in developed countries. Because this process is essentially similar to the evoluation of the field in the United States, ist is possible taht a general evolution of the field in the United States, it is possible that a general evolutionary model can be developed to predict or explain the relationship between democratization and enhanced public personnel management in developing countries.

Public administration review PAR

July/August 1996 volume 56 numero 4