Research into 72 regulatory authorities in four policy sectors (pharmacy, telecommunications, finances and pensions) in 18 Latin American countries shows that the institutionalization of meritocratic practices in the recruitment and careers of its staff has not been widespread, even in countries with a professionalized bureaucracy. The implementation of meritocracy could be partially explained through the policy sector and the influence of epistemic communities while alternative explanations like administrative legacies or the autonomy of the regulatory authorities to devise and implement personnel policies play a less important role. The institutionalization of meritocracy in ‘islands of excellence’ has policy implications for sustained merit-based strategies for the civil service.

Points for practitioners This research has shown that the institutionalization of meritocracy is not widespread when considering recruitment and staff careers in 72 regulatory Latin American agencies. Successful meritocratic practices are partially explained by the policy sector in which these agencies operate. Economic regulated sectors (financial services, delivery of pensions and telecommunications) are more meritocratic than social regulated areas (pharmacy). Two explanations have been offered for this. On the one hand, meritocracy seems to be influenced by particular epistemic communities in which competition plays an important role (for instance, economists). On the other hand, agencies need to increase their credibility and attract the confidence of international donors and private regulated enterprises. These findings suggest that the introduction of meritocracy could be more successfully approached through a more individualized process (i.e. by targeting individual agencies) instead of launching overall civil service reforms with uncertain consequences