Proceedings of the 4th Economics & Finance Conference, London

REASONS FOR THE INFECTIVENESS OF THE CZECH STATE BUREAUCRACY: MYTHS AND REALITY

FRANTIŠEK OCHRANA, MICHAL PLAČEK, MILAN PŮČEK

Abstract:

When evaluating the level of bureaucracy and efficiency of the government of the Czech Republic, both are seen to lag behind more developed Western countries. Causes of this condition are seen by many as being the advanced age of officials, their lack of education and the profound influence of politicians on the performance of the bureaucracy. The analysis is based on our own research of the ministerial staff as conducted in 2013 (N = 1,351). All 14 ministries of the Czech Republic were invited to participate. No similar empirical analysis of the Czech Republic’s ministerial staff had yet been undertaken. This is also one of the epistemological reasons why myths prevail among the general public about staff of ministries. The analysis shows that ministerial officials are, in fact, a predominately university-educated, and the vast majority of them are not under political pressure. The overall median age of employees in all ministries is 42 years old.

Keywords: Czech state bureaucracy; infectiveness; age structure; education level; political interest

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