Street-level bureaucrats’ action in the implementation of public policies in Brazil: a proposal for expanded analysis

Abstract

This article analyzes the multiple dimensions of street-level bureaucrats’ action in the implementation of public policies in the Brazilian context. The study aims to contribute to understand the subject with an expanded analytical approach. Bibliographic research was carried out in academic digital databases, identifying and selecting national and international works, according to methodologically defined criteria. The publications were analyzed and organized according to the following conceptual categories: discretion, structures, individual action, and relations. From the tension regarding rules and discretion in public administration, the analysis and interpretation of these works showed: a) the need to compare, separately and jointly, three different perspectives of street-level bureaucrats’ action (structural, individual action and relational perspectives); b) the need to understand the relationship of these perspectives in the implementation process itself. After the bibliographic review, hypotheses were formulated for an expanded analysis of the policy implementers’ action, suggesting lines for future research on the subject. This article contributes to the debate on the subject with an unprecedented theoretical construct that seeks to integrate the three different analytical perspectives presented in a dialectical synthesis of the central concepts of the literature on street-level bureaucrats’ implementation of public policies.

Keywords:
Street-level bureaucrats; Implementation of public policies; Brazil; Rules; Discretion