Political economy of policy change in developing countries

Specifically, the paper considers the relative influence of four factors (technical analyses, bureaucratic interactions within a government, international leverage, and a government"s natural desire to remain in power) on the adoption and maintenance of macroeconomic, sectoral, and institutional reforms. When governments are deciding whether to implement "pressing reforms" (i.e., macroeconomic or sectoral reforms arising out of a perceived crisis), the most important consideration seems to be the reform"s effect on the government"s ability to stay in power. Less pressing reforms (which are usually sectoral or organizational), on the other hand, are influenced mainly by bureaucratic considerations. Technical analysis and international leverage are generally not deciding factors. Once policy reforms have been instituted, the same factors tend to determine the degree to which they are sustained. Reforms that are relatively self-implementing are significantly affected by the stability of the regime in power, while reforms that require more effort to implement tend to be sustained according to the reactions of political opponents and of the affected bureaucracies. The sustainability of organizational reforms is generally dependent upon bureaucratic reactions alone.