Public management policy and accountability in Latin America: Performance-oriented budgeting in Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela (1994-2000)

This article presents some of the theoretical and practical problems the design and implementation of public management policies (following the definition that Barzelay [2001] proposes) face in some countries. We specifically emphasize those factors that affect the expected results of performance-oriented budgeting (POB). There is an interesting polemic going on between some scholars and practitioners who think performance and efficiency should be the main values of government policies and others arguing for a greater role for accountability and democratic control. POB may be the solution for this policy dilemma, but there are political, legal, and organizational factors that make it difficult to achieve the benefits promised by these types of reform strategies. Moreover, the design and implementation of POB is especially difficult in developing countries due to some specific organizational and political constraints. The most important may be the difficulty of freeing public managers to make decisions in a context that urges more control and strengthened accountability rather than granting more discretion. This article explores the implementation of POB in three Latin American countries: Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela.