Incentives and Human Resource Management in the Design of Public Sector Reform (Distinguished Lecture)

THE ‘DEVELOPMENT APPROACH’ TO GOVERNANCE We, in Pakistan, should be very happy that the global development community has finally accepted the centrality of public sector reform (also known as improved governance) in the quest for improved living standards in poor countries. Development economics is a subject that is based on the interpretation and observation of some Western academics and Western donor-based agencies. We should have some sympathy for these leaders of development thought and policy for they have struggled with integrating the prevailing theme (fad) in Western thought and philanthropy with learning about the societies and economies that they were supposed to be prescribing for. Using the principle of “ends justifying the means”, they defend their reliance on the current “fad” as well as on the only clearly visible, organised and powerful actor—the government, no matter how inefficient—they would.