Public Sector Reform, Time Preferences and Local Policy Networks for Sustainable Development

In fragmented and decentralised metropolitan areas,
achieving long-term sustainable development is a
formidable challenge for local governments. The literature
finds that social capital affects the ability of local
managers to adopt long-term policies. Close-knit informal
ties within policy networks reduce transaction costs,
fostering collaboration for long-term sustainable
development. However, existing studies overlook the effect
of public personnel management reforms on bureaucrats'
network behaviour. This research will investigate how two
types of reforms (the professionalisation of public service
careers, and the flexibilization and outsourcing of human
services contracting) affect local bureaucrats' collaborative
strategies within policy networks for sustainable
development in three Latin American metropolitan areas,
Medellin (Colombia), Guadalajara (Mexico), and Brasilia
(Brazil). I expect professionalisation reforms to improve job
security, incentivising bureaucrats' to adopt long-term
policies; I expect flexibilization and outsourcing to have the
opposite effect, skewing managers' strategies towards
short-termism.
This research will use a combination of agent-based
network modelling, field experiments, and multivariate
regression analysis. By comparing the effects of reforms on
policy networks for sustainable development, I aim to
provide new theoretical insights and empirical evidence to
suggest new reform avenues for local governments in
developing countries.