Trends of Public Management Reform in Latin America

Abstract

This article outlines three major trends in the process of state reform in Latin American countries. A first section discusses the theoretical fit between policy and management, and identifies some empirical examples that give way to various reform choices. It also examines the impact of paradigm change on public management reforms. The second part of the article proposes a broad historical periodization of state reform initiatives that identifies three distinct stages along the region´s experience. A concluding section underlies the pervasive impact of the digital revolution on the recent reform policies and its possible effects upon the administrative culture.