Politicization on Finance Ministry: the effects of political and economic crises on the turnover of civil servants in senior management and advisory positions

Abstract:

This work analyzes the turnover of civil servants occupying senior management and advisory positions (called DAS 4, DAS 5, and DAS 6 in the Brazilian public bureaucracy) in the Ministry of Finance departments between 1996 and 2020. The theoretical reference is studies on the politicization of high-level state bureaucracy. The data analyzed indicates a disparity between the turnover rate of Finance Ministers (which is low) and the turnover rate of those occupying DAS positions (which is high). The article explores explanations for this difference, considering the distinctive characteristics of this ministry in relation to others: it is more insulated, the profile of its staff is more technical, and its area of activity (fiscal and economic management) affects the interests of specific groups in society, private market agents. The results indicate that political-economic crises are important factors in DAS turnover alongside presidential and ministerial turnovers. The politicization of the high-level bureaucracy of the Ministry of Finance is not as strong as pointed out in the literature but is characterized by the preservation of the minister at the expense of his team, whose members are changed in response to political crises and generated by national and international economic instabilities.

Keywords:
bureaucracy; elite; public policy; management positions; politicization.