Preliminary results of a study on ministerial structures are presented in a webinar

Por IPC-IG
people on the streets

 

The webinar “Estruturas Ministeriais–Construção de um Banco de Dados para uma Análise Comparativa entre Países” (Ministerial Structures—Building a Database for Comparative Analysis among Countries), held on 22 September 2021, presented some of the results of a study developed by the Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea), with support from the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG), which analyses the structures of ministries in 21 countries. The project aims at developing a database, with official sources, for comparative analysis at the global level.  

The countries analysed were Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Africa, New Zealand, Norway, Paraguay, Portugal, Spain, South Korea, United Kingdom, United States, and Uruguay. These countries were selected from those with the greatest data transparency regarding their government structure.  

The data pertains to the period 1990-2020 and the preliminary results show that the ministries with the greatest longevity are those related to the structuring activities of the State, such as Justice, Foreign Affairs and Defence. On the other hand, it was possible to observe a greater dynamics and organisational transformation in the social, economic, management, energy, infrastructure, and transportation areas.  

The trajectory of the ministries is responsive to the institutional context, with a significant correlation between the organisational model adopted and the dynamics in implementing public policies.  

The webinar was opened by Ivan Oliveira, Ipea’s Director  of International Studies, who highlighted the importance of involving international organisations to make official data collection possible. “The studies on international governance are strategic to understand aspects such as the organisational and ministerial model adopted in different countries. This research represents a major advance and would not be possible without the support of the IPC-IG”, he said.  

The debate was also attended by the IPC-IG's senior research coordinator, Fábio Veras. "We collect consistent data on public governance in the global context. They allow us to understand, for example, the agenda of government priorities by looking at the ministerial structure adopted," explained the researcher. 

The study was coordinated by Ipea researchers João Cláudio Pompeu and Antônio Lassance, who explained that the construction of the database with official data from 21 countries is a major contribution to the research agenda on governance. "There are other studies that analyse leadership positions in ministries. However, our research allows us to analyse the organisational structure and understand factors that impact the creation, modification, and extinction of ministries in the countries analysed," commented Pompeu. 

The researchers also pointed out possible developments that should be considered in a follow-up study, including regional analyses and political systems in the different countries, as well as the effects of political organisation and socioeconomic characteristics that influence ministerial structures. A second webinar on these developments is slated to be held by Ipea, with support from the IPC-IG, on a date to be confirmed.  

 

Watch the full recording.  

 

*With information from Ipea 

 

Photo: Canva