Bureaucracy and public administration performance: in search of theories and evidence for administrative reforms in developing countries

The study aims to contribute to the discussion about the State in the 21st century by pointing to some critical features of public bureaucracy that deserve more empirical research to provide ,evidence to support proposals for administrative reform in developing countries. Applying multivariate analysis techniques to available datasets, it is verified whether the institutional characteristics of the Brazilian bureaucracy challenged by PEC 32/2020 - recruitment by competitive public examination, the pro fessionalization of senior positions, the existence of a special work regime for civil servants, and the adoption of attractive salaries - are associated with international performance indicators of public administration. The findings corroborate the theoretical arguments that, in addition to attractive salaries and recruitment by competitive public examinations, a special work regime with career stability for civil servants has significant relationships with reduction of corruption and improvement of public governance in the group of developing countries. That is because the risks in these countries of patronage practices are greater when compared to developed countries with well-established bureaucracies.