Municipal Performance: Does Mayoral Quality Matter?

This article presents the first empirical study in a Latin-American country on the effects of managerial quality upon municipal performance in education. Using 6 years of data from 40 Colombian municipalities, I assess the influence of mayoral qualifications—education and job-related experience—on t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of public administration research and theory 2009-04, Vol.19 (2), p.285-312
Main Author: Avellaneda, Claudia N.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
City councils
City politics
Colombia
Competency based education
Developing countries
Education
Enrollments
Hypotheses
LDCs
Level of education
Local Government
Managers
Mayors
Municipal council
Municipal governments
Political leaders
Political parties
Politics
Public administration
Quality
Quality management
Quality standards
School districts
Studies
Surveys
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This article presents the first empirical study in a Latin-American country on the effects of managerial quality upon municipal performance in education. Using 6 years of data from 40 Colombian municipalities, I assess the influence of mayoral qualifications—education and job-related experience—on the percentage of the eligible population actually enrolled in school. After considering other political, economic, and demographic factors, the findings show that mayoral qualifications are associated with greater school enrollment. This positive influence, however, decreases under external constraints, such as the presence of illegal armed groups. The findings should apply in any setting where the provision of social services is decentralized and where the mayor also plays the role of city manager, performing both political and administrative functions. The study has implications for countries struggling to eradicate illiteracy as results show that mayoral human capital enhances educational performance.
ISSN:1053-1858
1477-9803
DOI:10.1093/jopart/mun001