The Comparative Literature on Administrative Reforms: Developments, Shortcomings, and Possibilities

During the last two decades, the comparative literature on administrative reforms has significantly increased. What have been its contributions and limitations? What do we still need to learn about this topic? This essay reviews the key debates in the literature, analyzes its main shortcomings, and suggests some avenues for future research. The essay argues that the comparative literature has been made important progress in descriptive, informative, and even analytical terms, but its omissions and biases have constrained its capacity to offer convincing causal inferences, explanations, conceptualizations and generalizations. Adapted from the source document.