Better public sector governance through partnership with the private sector and civil society: the case of Guatemala’s forest administration

Improving public sector governance is an important challenge for developing countries. Taking the case of Guatemala’s forest administration, the Instituto Nacional de Bosque (INAB), as an example, this article analyses an innovative option for public sector reform: the delegation of authority to an...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Birner, Regina, Wittmer, Heidi
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: SAGE Publications 2006
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/172219
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author Birner, Regina
Wittmer, Heidi
author_browse Birner, Regina
Wittmer, Heidi
author_facet Birner, Regina
Wittmer, Heidi
author_sort Birner, Regina
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Improving public sector governance is an important challenge for developing countries. Taking the case of Guatemala’s forest administration, the Instituto Nacional de Bosque (INAB), as an example, this article analyses an innovative option for public sector reform: the delegation of authority to an independent agency that is jointly managed by professionals from the public sector, the private sector and civil society. The article develops an analytical framework, based on transaction cost economics and politics. The analysis shows that delegation and partnership have considerable potential to reduce political interest capture, but they involve potential problems of ‘delegatee drift’ and ‘legitimacy drift’. In view of this trade-off, the comparative advantage of delegation and partnership is influenced by the level of organization among the stakeholders, their managerial capacity and the degree to which they share common interests. The article also discusses the political dimension of the reform process that led to the creation of the INAB.
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spelling CGSpace1722192025-02-19T14:07:19Z Better public sector governance through partnership with the private sector and civil society: the case of Guatemala’s forest administration Birner, Regina Wittmer, Heidi public sector governance forest management Improving public sector governance is an important challenge for developing countries. Taking the case of Guatemala’s forest administration, the Instituto Nacional de Bosque (INAB), as an example, this article analyses an innovative option for public sector reform: the delegation of authority to an independent agency that is jointly managed by professionals from the public sector, the private sector and civil society. The article develops an analytical framework, based on transaction cost economics and politics. The analysis shows that delegation and partnership have considerable potential to reduce political interest capture, but they involve potential problems of ‘delegatee drift’ and ‘legitimacy drift’. In view of this trade-off, the comparative advantage of delegation and partnership is influenced by the level of organization among the stakeholders, their managerial capacity and the degree to which they share common interests. The article also discusses the political dimension of the reform process that led to the creation of the INAB. 2006-12 2025-01-29T12:59:34Z 2025-01-29T12:59:34Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/172219 en Limited Access SAGE Publications Birner, Regina; Wittmer, Heidi. 2006. Better public sector governance through partnership with the private sector and civil society: the case of Guatemala’s forest administration. International Review of Administrative Sciences 72(4): 459-472. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020852306070077
spellingShingle public sector
governance
forest management
Birner, Regina
Wittmer, Heidi
Better public sector governance through partnership with the private sector and civil society: the case of Guatemala’s forest administration
title Better public sector governance through partnership with the private sector and civil society: the case of Guatemala’s forest administration
title_full Better public sector governance through partnership with the private sector and civil society: the case of Guatemala’s forest administration
title_fullStr Better public sector governance through partnership with the private sector and civil society: the case of Guatemala’s forest administration
title_full_unstemmed Better public sector governance through partnership with the private sector and civil society: the case of Guatemala’s forest administration
title_short Better public sector governance through partnership with the private sector and civil society: the case of Guatemala’s forest administration
title_sort better public sector governance through partnership with the private sector and civil society the case of guatemala s forest administration
topic public sector
governance
forest management
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/172219
work_keys_str_mv AT birnerregina betterpublicsectorgovernancethroughpartnershipwiththeprivatesectorandcivilsocietythecaseofguatemalasforestadministration
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