Bureaucratic behavior: A review of the theory and its application to Serbian public administration

Abstract

A professional and competent public administration is necessary for successful transition from a socialist, centrally planned economy to a functioning market democracy. The difficulty lies in building an organized and effective civil service sector. This paper gives a brief overview of formal bureaucratic reasoning, beginning with Niskanen?s theory, followed by the principal-agent model. The "Weberian state hypothesis", which provides an alternative view of bureaucracies in less developed countries, is subsequently explored. Finally, the currant state of Serbian public administration is described, along with a discussion of challenges to be addressed in the future.Jedan od osnovnih preduslova uspesne tranzicije od socijalistickih centralnoplanskih privreda ka vidu trzisne demokratije jeste postojanje profesionalne i kvalitetne javne uprave. Pitanje je, medjutim, kako izgraditi efektivnu i na pravilima zasnovanu drzavnu administraciju? Namera nam je da u kratkim crtama analiziramo neke od najistaknutijih teorija birokratije. Za pocetak prikazacemo osnovne karakteristike Niskanenove teorije, a potom i principal-agent modela. U nastavku, objasnicemo tzv. Veberijanski pristup reformi drzavne uprave, koji predstavlja alternativni pogled na pozeljne karakteristike birokratije i koji je prilagodjen zemljama na niskom nivou dohotka. Poslednji deo rada bavi se trenutnim stanjem javne uprave u Srbiji i izazovima sa kojima ce se nasa administracija suociti u buducnosti.