28 and performance bonuses that helped attract qualified and motivated customs officers (FIAS 2005j, p. 9). But these examples are among the few exceptions. More often, established civil service procedures made it difficult to implement performance incentives. In Mexico sanctions for poor performers were developed but never used. In the Philippines civil service constraints made it impossible for the customs reform to address organizational and human resource issues, and as a result reforms were consistently undermined by customs personnel and other special interest groups (FIAS 2005a, p. 1). When modifying civil service rules is difficult, other mechanisms can be considered. Hangzhou municipality in China used public recognition of managers as a motivating tool. It also tried to attract younger and better-educated employees and create a service culture that placed a higher value on experts and technical staff (Yufei, Lei, and Yu 2004).

Training can help improve performance incentives, by raising skills and increasing job satisfaction. In Latvia training for inspectorates was an integral part of the reform, with trained inspectors given a business advisory role in addition to their traditional roles. In South Africa, Cape Town’s property tax reform program involved a major push to train data collectors and mass appraisal modelers, which helped create a conducive work environment and team commitment to the project’s success (FIAS 2005h, p. 5). Yet training is often not provided or not pursued seriously enough. In Hungary and Korea insufficient training at provincial and local levels led to slower implementation than planned (FIAS 2005f, p. 25).

# **_Contracting out reforms to the private sector_**

When it comes to implementing certain reforms, the private sector often has greater expertise and capability than the public sector. The Jordanian and Mexican governments both took advantage of private sector strengths—the Jordanian government by contracting out port and airport management and the Mexican government by contracting out environmental auditing as part of its inspections reform. In both cases the initial results are promising. The challenge in these cases was to align the short-term incentives of private contractors with the longer-term objectives of the government institution responsible for implementation, and to build up the government’s capacity to oversee and support private contractors.

# **_Harnessing information technology_**

Information technology is transforming the dynamics of the implementation process and can be a potent tool for sustaining change. Pakistan automated and electronically linked all its major business registries. Vietnam introduced business registration by Internet. And Mexico introduced electronic systems to help simplify environmental and customs inspections. All these information technology solutions helped simplify procedures, provide access to information (such as on laws, regulations, and procedures), and inform the public about its rights and about how to participate in the process. They also helped remove discretionary powers, improve transparency and accountability, and facilitate monitoring. Moreover, information technology solutions can be easy to replicate and