FOUNDATION UNIVERSITY

Graduate School

MASTER OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

COURSE CODE : MPA 12A

COURSE TITLE : Comparative Administrative System

COURSE UNITS : 3

CONTACT HOURS : 54

PROFESSOR : DR. GREGORIO E. BACCAY III

CONTACT NO. : 0906-732-5836 E-mail @ [email protected]

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course introduces the field of comparative public administration. The field
focuses largely on reform and capacity building and often seeks to identify universal
patterns in organizational structures and processes that promote the most ‘desirable’
policy outcomes. States differ greatly in their history and social and economic
characteristics, and exhibit a range of administrative arrangements. The variation in
these administrative systems is due to a variety of factors, including social, cultural,
political and technological factors. We will focus primarily on national (and less so on
sub-national) administrative systems in a sample of states, explore the variation in
administrative systems and examine how the organizational structure and processes
facilitate or inhibit policy implementation.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

After finishing this course, the students shall be able to answer the following
questions:

1) How are different administrative systems structured and what frameworks do

we have for comparing them?

2) What factors shape the configuration of administrative systems?

3) How do the structural and behavioral characteristics of administrative systems

affect policy outcomes?

4) How does globalization affect the structure and function of governments?

KEY TOPICS:

WEEKS TOPICS AND TEXT READINGS ACTIVITIES

Weeks 1-6  Course Overview 1) Dahl, Robert A. 1989.
Democracy and its
MODULE I. INTRODUCTION TO Critics (Chap 8, pp. 106-
COMPARATIVE PUBLIC 118). Yale University
ADMINISTRATION Press.

 Democracy and the State 2) Fukuyama, F. 2004. The

 Bureaucracy and its Role Imperative of State-
 Comparison in Public Building. Journal of
Administration Democracy 15(2).

3) Welzel, C. 2009.
Theories of
Democratization. In:
Democratization, edited
by C. Haerpfer

4) Kettl, D.F. and J.W.

Fesler. 2009. What
Government Does – And
How it Does it. In The
Politics of the
Administrative Process,
pp. 49-73.

5) Jreisat, Jamil E. 2010.

Comparative Public
Administration and
Africa. International
Review of Administrative
Sciences 76(4): 612-
631.

6) Rauch, James E. and

Peter B. Evans. 2000.
Bureaucratic Structure
and Bureaucratic
Performance in Less
Developed Countries.
Journal of Public
Economics 75: 49-71.
Weeks 7-12 MODULE II. A DMINISTRATION, 1) Bryner, Gary C. 2007.
POLITICS & SOCIETY Public Organizations
 Personnel Recruitment and Public Policies and,
and Management Luc Roubon,
 Problems of Politicization of the Civil
Administrative Structure Service. In The
 Politics and Bureaucracy Handbook of Public
 Administrative Administration, edited
Accountability by B. Guy Peters and
Jon Pierre, 189-210.
Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage.

2) Moss, Todd, Gunilla

Pettersson and Nicolas
van de Walle. 2006. An
Aid-Institutions
Paradox? A Review
Essay on Aid
Dependency and State
Building in Sub-
Saharan Africa.
Working
Paper No. 74.
Washington, DC:
Center for Global
Development.

3) Leonard, E. K. 2007.
Establishing an
International Criminal
Court: The Emergence
of a New
Global Authority?
Institute for the Study of
Diplomacy.

Week 13-18 MODULE III. REFORM AND D 1) Considine, Mark.

EVELOPMENT A DMINISTRATION 2001. The End of the
Line? Accountable
 Administrative Reform Governance in the
 Development Age of Networks,
Administration Partnerships and
 Globalization and Public Joined up
Government.
 Administration Governance 15: 21-
40.
 Finals
2) Municipal
Decentralization in
Buenos Aires:
Creating the
Municipality of
Hurlingham.

METHODS/TEACHING STRATEGIES:
 Lecture Discussion
 Individual Reporting and Critiquing/Brainstorming
 Individual Research Project/Written Assignments
 Long Exam

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

As part of the participation grade, there are two specific tasks:

• Each student is responsible for leading the discussion for two class sessions and
should have five questions based on the assigned readings prepared for the class.

• Each student is responsible for selecting two comparable countries to follow

throughout the semester. As we discuss the different topics throughout the semester,
we will rely on each student as an expert on their selected countries and have them
report on each topic within the context of their country.

Note that there is a vast literature on comparative administration and it is impossible to

cover a substantial portion of it in one course. Further, some countries are
underrepresented in the literature. As such, having each student become a specialist on
two countries allows us to share the workload for additional reading and research and
ensures that we will all be exposed to a wider sample of countries throughout the
semester.

Critical Analysis Papers

You are required to submit two short essays (3 pages, single-spaced, 1-inch margins).
Each paper should be structured around the materials and discussions covered in a
session of your choice. Your essay may be an analysis of one of the cases covered
throughout the semester. The subject of your essay may instead be a response to a
question raised in class or a critique or rebuttal of the arguments made by a given
author in one of the assigned readings. Or you may choose to examine one of the
topics discussed within the context of your two countries. The thesis of your paper
should be clear and your arguments should be supported with citations where
necessary. You are also expected to cite additional academic references not listed in
the syllabus. While you have some flexibility on the topic of your paper note that it will
be graded zero if it is a mere non-critical summary of the assigned readings. Further,
your essay should be submitted on the day we discuss the case or topic you have
chosen.

Your essay will be graded on:

• Demonstrated understanding of the materials

• Connections drawn to class materials
• Evidence of critical thinking
• Number and quality of references
• Structure and coherence
• Writing and grammar

GRADING SYSTEM:
I. ATTENDANCE & PARTICIPATION : 30%
a.) Reporting
b.) Class Participation
II. PROJECTS /ASSIGNMENTS : 40%
III. ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION : 30%
==========
TOTAL : 100%

REFERENCES

There is no required textbook.

Online Resources for Basic Background Information on Countries:

 CIA World Factbook, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-

factbook/
 Corruption Perceptions Index, http://www.transparency.org
 Economic Freedom Index, http://www.heritage.org
 The Economist Intelligence Unit, http://www.eiu.com/Default.aspx
 Human Development Index, http://hdr.undp.org
 Library of Congress Country Studies, http://countrystudies.us/
 OECD
 World Development Indicators, http://data.worldbank.org
 World Bank
 Yale Global, http://yaleglobal.yale.edu