A patchwork quilt of public administration models without early weberianism? Public management reforms in Colombia since the 1980s

This article analyses the path and stages of public sector reforms in Colombia, their speed and frequency, the key actors, and drivers of reform since the 1980s. We collected the bills and laws that reformed the Colombian public sector and coded them according to a well-known typology of public management reforms. Until the 1980s, Colombia failed the implementation of Weberian-like reforms. After the 1990s, this country instead embraced a mixture of different models and practices of public sector reform that eventually created a unique Colombian patchwork quilt of public sector reforms, which is still in the making.

Automated summary

This article analyzes the path and stages of public sector reforms in Colombia, the speed and frequency of the reforms, the key actors involved, and the drivers of the reforms since the 1980s. By collecting and coding the bills and laws that reformed the Colombian public sector, the article reveals that Colombia has embraced a mix of different models and practices, creating a unique patchwork of public sector reforms that is still evolving.