The idea that the characteristics of public administrations influence the degree of fulfillment of government functions has a strong intuitive appeal, and is the justification for any attempt to improve public administrations. The principal object of this paper is a statistical analysis of this idea. For this purpose, it is asumed that: (a) the basis for appointment in the public administrations influences the quality of the employees, and (b) this quality, together with the employees' incentives, their stability, the characteristics of the interaction among employees, and the organization of public administrations influences government efficiency. In order to specify these ideas more precisely, several variables are defined to represent their components. The bases for the definition of these variables are that they are intuitively acceptable, and easily measurable. For the statistical analysis, data to quantify the variables defined for 17 Latin American countris and referring to the period between 1960 and 1970 were collected and analyzed. The principal conclusion of the study is that the characteristics of the public administration should have a place in all studies of public finances. The most relevant characteristics seem to be the way that the public employees are selected, and -as a consequences-their qualifications. On the other hand, the level of salaries, the degree of socialization between high officials and subordinates, and the stability of public employees do not seem to be particularly relevant. © 1979.
