Undoing Insulation: Meritocracy and Politicization in a Weberian Bureaucracy

• In Event: Recruitment and Performance of Government Officials

Abstract

Academic and policy discussions regarding the bureaucracy often advocate for robust civil service systems, incorporating meritocratic entrance exams, competitive salaries, and lifelong tenure in order to curb political influence and promote effective governance. Using a unique and comprehensive administrative dataset covering the selection and careers of various elite civil service corps in Spain from 1960 to 2024, we unveil striking patterns that challenge conventional wisdom about Weberian bureaucracies.

First, our findings reveal that a substantial portion of elite civil servants depart from the corps to pursue roles in the private sector or assume high-level political positions. Second, we identify pronounced partisan patterns in the recruitment of elite civil servants for top-tier political appointments, with certain corps consistently aligned with the left while others lean towards the right. Third, we show that while these elite civil service corps have become more diverse in terms of gender, they remain largely biased in their socioeconomic profile.

In summary, our study demonstrates that the formal insulation and meritocratic principles of Weberian bureaucracies can coexist with enduring socioeconomic biases and the integration of bureaucratic, political, and corporate career paths.

Authors

• Pablo Fernandez-Vazquez, Carlos III University - Juan March Institute

• Guillermo Toral, IE University