We study how the management practices bureaucrats operate under correlate with the quantity of public services delivered, using data from the Nigerian Civil Service. We have hand‐coded independent engineering assessments of 4,700 project completion rates. We supplement this with a management survey in the bureaucracies responsible for these projects, building on Bloom and Van Reenen (2013). Management practices matter: increasing bureaucrats’ autonomy is positively associated with completion rates, yet practices related to incentives/monitoring of bureaucrats are negatively associated with completion rates. Our evidence provides new insights on the importance of management in public bureaucracies in a developing country setting.
Authors
![Imran Rasul](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2022-08/Imran-Rasul.jpg?itok=8V_L5clA)
CPP Director, IFS Research Director
Imran is Professor of Economics at University College London and Director of the Centre for the Microeconomic Analysis of Public Policy at the IFS.
![Daniel Rogger](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2022-07/Dan%20Rogger.jpg?itok=xAKadJsD)
Research Associate World Bank
Dan is a Research Associate of the Institute for Fiscal Studies and works in the World Bank Development Economics Research Group.
Journal article details
- Publisher
- The IFS
- Issue
- Volume 128, Issue 608, August 2016, pages 413-446
Suggested citation
Rasul, I and Rogger, D. (2016). 'Management of Bureaucrats and Public Service Delivery: Evidence from the Nigerian Civil Service' 128(608/2016), pp.413–446.
More from IFS
Understand this issue
![Smoke from pipe](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2022-08/Smoke-from-pipe.jpg?itok=H5WUOkWr)
What is the case for carbon taxes in developing countries?
Carbon pricing can be a powerful tool for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. What are the risks and opportunities from such policies in developing countries?
4 November 2021
![Interview](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2024-06/1.jpg?itok=mjderngL)
Election Special: The big issues politicians haven't spoken about
25 June 2024
![Ariel view of an English town](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2024-06/english%20town%20feature.jpg?itok=ri4Ol6m1)
Cuts to council services likely unless cost pressures abate – even with the biggest council tax increases for 20 years
21 June 2024
Policy analysis
![Foreign Office sign](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2024-01/FCDO.jpg?itok=tF9rqG36)
Three ways to improve the design of the UK’s overseas aid spending target
18 January 2024
![Ghana cedi bank notes](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2023-11/Ghana-cedi-notes.jpg?itok=QoCRtxWQ)
Distributional analysis of Ghana’s tax system
18 December 2023
![Welsh town with mountains behind](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2024-06/Welsh-town-feature.jpg?itok=5axb5wZn)
How would the parties’ tax and spending plans affect Scotland and Wales?
28 June 2024
Academic research
![Working Paper Cover](/sites/default/files/styles/portrait/public/2024-05/WP202423-Targeting-men-women-or-both-to-reduce-child-marriage_Page_01.jpg?itok=llhHsGnn)
Targeting men, women or both to reduce child marriage
28 May 2024
![Working Paper Cover](/sites/default/files/styles/portrait/public/2024-05/WP202422-Keeping-the-peace-while-getting-your-way-information-persuasion-and-intimate-partner-violence_Page_01.jpg?itok=JR-kAVHv)
Keeping the peace whilst getting your way: Information, persuasion and intimate partner violence
17 May 2024
![Working Paper Cover](/sites/default/files/styles/portrait/public/2024-05/WP202419-Forced-displacement-mental-health-and-child-development-evidence-from-the-rohingya-refugees_Page_01.jpg?itok=ZnUTIDEq)
Forced displacement, mental health, and child development: Evidence from Rohingya refugees
10 May 2024