Strengthening State Capacity: Civil Service Reform and Public Sector Performance during the Gilded Age

Aneja, Abhay; Xu, Guo

doi:10.1257/aer.20230019

Abstract

We use newly digitized records from the Post Office to study the effects of strengthened state capacity between 1875–1901. Exploiting the implementation of the Pendleton Act—a landmark statute which shielded bureaucrats from political interference—across U.S. cities over two waves, we find that civil service reform reduced postal delivery errors and increased productivity. These improvements were most pronounced during election years when the reform dampened bureaucratic turnover. We provide suggestive evidence that reformed cities witnessed declining local partisan newspapers. Separating politics from administration, therefore, not only improved state effectiveness but also weakened the role of local politics.

This website uses cookies.

Strengthening State Capacity: Civil Service Reform and Public Sector Performance during the Gilded Age

Abstract

Downloads