of which is civil service reform. Regarding recruitment, it supports implementation of a meritocratic and competitive hiring process by strengthening a government institution called the High Authority of the Civil Service - “Haute autorité de la fonction publique”. The project also supports the Government of Comoros to streamline its civil service and to control the overall wage bill, through such measures as the civil service census and reinforcing the legal budget framework, including the position of financial controllers in the Ministry of Finance.

# **Section 3: Political economy and the design of the study**

## **The importance of political economy**

The World Bank assessments of civil service reform (CSR) often identify political economy issues as a key impediment (Reid, undated; Public Sector Board, 2000; Independent Evaluation Group, 2008). The particular reasons for the poor performance of CSR projects are stated in Reid (undated), which identifies three main factors that political economy analyses can help to address: 1) Political economy constraints, 2) Inappropriate design, 3) Inappropriate instruments.<sup>8</sup>

**_Chart 4.1  The Contribution of Political Economy Analysis to Civil Service Reform_**

||_Contextual_<br>_Considerations/_<br>_Challenges_|_Solutions_|_Analyses_|
|---|---|---|---|
|1.|<br>Reforms are contentious:<br>-Political interests oppose<br>-Bureaucratic resistance|<br>Adapt reforms and<br>sequence them to be<br>politically realistic<br><br>Prepare and exploit<br>windows of opportunity|<br>Political economy analysis of<br>interests, both political and<br>bureaucratic<br><br>Publicizing an analysis of<br>problem and its effects may<br>mobilize public support|
|2.|<br>Reforms are complex and<br>require capacity|<br>Tailor intervention to<br>capacity, i.e. simplify<br>components asnecessary|<br>Institutional analysis of the<br>capacity of state|
|3.|<br>Varying institutional<br>designs and<br>organizational cultures,<br>including informal<br>practices|<br>Tailor the intervention to<br>existing institutions and<br>informal rules|<br>Institutional/ organizational<br>analysis, including the<br>informal rules and<br>organizational culture|

Source: Summary of Reid (undated), with contribution by the authors.

Chart 4.1 above summarizes the three main _contextual_ challenges presented in the World Bank literature on CSR. The first relates to the interests that are challenged by CSRs. More than anything, politicians would be wary of reforming the civil service, as they may operate in a system of political clientelism where civil service jobs are used to mobilize support. The capacity of the government to effectively implement CSR represents another key consideration. Reforms can be highly complex, in terms of institutional design and technical skills. For example, they often require strong human resources management skills, in order to implement changes in the pay structure or hiring practices. They may also face challenges in translating legislation into actual changes in bureaucratic practices.

Attempts to tailor CSR must also consider the institutional design of government, particularly, in Comoros, to adapt to both the French system and devolved island governments. Moreover, given the sparse legal framework, informal bureaucratic practices dominate

> 8 The other factors are 1) Insufficient implementation support and 2) Contradictory bank-supported interventions.

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