• http://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0006513

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, et al. (2017). Tables and Figures for: Public Administration at a Glance in Latin America and the Caribbean: 2017. IDB Open Data. https://doi.org/10.60966/53o077xn

1. English

What does this dataset measure?

The dataset provides indicators of the structure, efficiency, and transparency of public administrations in Latin America and the Caribbean. It helps assess how governments manage budgets, human resources, and service delivery.

Which countries are included in the dataset?

The dataset covers Latin American and Caribbean countries and includes comparable indicators of governance, fiscal performance, and institutional capacity, enabling cross-country benchmarking and trend analysis.

What are the main dimensions analyzed?

The data are organized around key dimensions of public governance: - Public finance management - expenditure efficiency - budget transparency, and - fiscal balance
- Public employment - workforce size - gender composition, and - wage structure
- Open government and transparency - data accessibility and - citizen participation
- Institutional quality - control of corruption and - regulatory effectiveness

How can analysts use this dataset?

Researchers and policymakers can use the dataset to: - Compare public sector performance across LAC countries
- Analyze trends in fiscal transparency and government accountability
- Identify administrative efficiency gaps and governance reforms needed for improvement

What indicators on fiscal management are included?

The dataset provides metrics such as: - Public expenditure and revenue as a percentage of GDP
- Fiscal balance and debt-to-GDP ratios
- Public investment levels and budget execution rates

Does the dataset include gender indicators in public administration?

Yes. It includes data on gender representation in public employment, including the proportion of women in the civil service and in senior management positions, supporting gender equality monitoring in the public sector.

What trends in transparency and accountability are visible?

The dataset shows progress in open data adoption and citizen access to budget information in several LAC countries, though gaps remain in regulatory enforcement and audit independence.

How frequently is the dataset updated?

This edition corresponds to the 2017 release of the Panorama de las Administraciones Públicas series, produced in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

How can I assess a government agency’s performance with this dataset?

Use the dataset’s cross-country, comparable indicators to benchmark an agency against national peers or regional medians.

Select indicators by dimension (e.g., public finance, public employment, open government/transparency, institutional quality) and: 1) Normalize values (per GDP, per employee, or index scale).
2) Benchmark against LAC averages or country clusters.
3) Track trends across years/editions to identify improvement or slippage.
4) Triangulate adjacent indicators (e.g., wage bill + headcount + execution rates) to avoid single-metric bias.

What are the key metrics for public service effectiveness covered here?

The dataset supplies proxy metrics that analysts commonly use to gauge effectiveness at a system level, including: - Budget execution rates and public investment execution
- Revenue/expenditure as % of GDP and fiscal balance
- Public wage bill and civil-service headcount/structure (incl. gender representation)
- Open government / budget transparency and access to information indicators
- Institutional quality proxies such as regulatory effectiveness or control of corruption

Note: These are system-level governance indicators; program-level service outcomes are not included.

Can you give examples of public-sector performance indicators from the dataset?

Yes. Examples you can directly extract and compare across countries include: - Budget transparency score and open data adoption
- Public investment (share of total expenditure) and execution rate
- Debt and fiscal balance (% of GDP)
- Wage bill (% of GDP), average public-sector wage ratios, and women in senior civil-service posts
- Procurement or regulatory quality–type indices where available in the edition

How should analysts use these indicators responsibly?

• Combine multiple indicators per question (efficiency, equity, transparency) to reduce measurement error.
• Document sources/definitions from the codebook to ensure comparability.
• Use confidence bands or rank groups (top/middle/bottom terciles) rather than point-ranks when uncertainty is high.

How does this dataset relate to policy reform?

The data inform evidence-based reforms for public-sector modernization, fiscal sustainability, and service-delivery efficiency. Governments and international organizations use these indicators to benchmark administrative capacity and track progress toward reasonable governance goals.

What are the key indicators for measuring public sector performance?

The dataset highlights public employment (% of total employment), government spending (% of GDP), and government revenues (% of GDP) as core indicators. For example, in 2014, Argentina’s public employment was 18.01% of total employment, while government spending reached 37.69% of GDP.

What are the methods for evaluating government effectiveness and accountability?

Comparisons across countries and against OECD averages provide benchmarks. For instance, the OECD average public employment in 2014 was 21.6%, compared with 12.43% in Latin America and the Caribbean, indicating differences in state capacity and accountability structures.

What are the challenges in public sector performance measurement and data collection?

The dataset notes inconsistencies in household survey years and administrative reporting. For example, Chile’s pension system data differ depending on whether contributory pensions are treated as deferred income or direct transfers, complicating comparability.

What is the impact of digital transformation on government performance monitoring?

While the dataset predates the widespread adoption of AI dashboards, it reflects early e-government themes. Countries with stronger fiscal reporting (e.g., Brazil, Chile) demonstrate how digitalization improves transparency in spending and revenue tracking.