Dissertation Research: Public Service Provision and Pockets of Effectiveness

威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校有效提供基本公共服务对于减少发展中国家的贫困至关重要。然而，在许多国家，负责提供水、安全、医疗服务和教育等服务的政府机构运转不灵。在国际支持下进行的公共部门改革往往无法纠正这种情况。这就是为什么在以政府无效为标志的情况下，一些政府机构满足公共服务要求的能力需要得到系统关注。本项目着眼于组织绩效的国家以下差异，考察这些组织为何以及如何达到令人满意的绩效水平。通过探索这些有效的公共服务提供产生并制度化的微观过程和机制，该项目为理解国家以下制度差异、制度变化和发展的起源做出了理论贡献。这些发现也将对从事腐败和公共服务工作的政策制定者和国际机构具有重要意义。使用配对设计，该项目比较了尼日利亚在公共服务提供方面有很大差异的政府机构。在半结构化访谈、焦点小组讨论、非参与者观察、调查和行政数据分析的基础上，将采用过程跟踪和案例内分析，以确定工作中的过程和机制，并进行跨案例分析，以增加影响力。

SES-1636972Ivan ErmakoffMichael RollUniversity of Wisconsin MadisonThe effective provision of basic public services is essential for reducing poverty in the developing world. In many countries, however, government agencies in charge of providing services like water, security, health services, and education are dysfunctional. Often, public sector reforms undertaken with international support have failed to remedy this situation. That is why the capacity of some government agencies to meet public service requirements in contexts marked by governmental ineffectiveness requires systematic attention. Focusing on subnational variation in organizational performance, this project examines why and how these organizations achieve satisfactory levels of performance. By exploring the micro-processes and mechanisms through which these pockets of effective public service provision emerge and become institutionalized, this project makes a theoretical contribution to understanding the origins of subnational institutional variation, institutional change, and development. The findings will also be of relevance to policymakers and international agencies working on corruption and public services. Using a matched pairs design, the project compares government agencies in Nigeria that differ substantially in terms of public service provision. Based on semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, non-participant observation, surveys, and the analysis of administrative data, process tracing and within-case analysis will be employed for identifying the processes and mechanisms at work and cross-case analysis for added leverage.