Independent, honest and prestigious Civil Servants as required by a sound bureaucracy

The conditions of Civil Servants and the efficiency of Public Administration under debate (1945-1967)

Abstract

From 1930 to 1967, the links between the Public Administration’s efficiency and the economic and social conditions of the Civil Servants are often discussed at the Portuguese “Assembleia Nacional” and “Câmara Corporativa”. Most of the debates regarding the subject focus on the main characteristics of the Civil Service. But they also focus on the growing attraction of the private sector, with its higher wages and better social benefits. It is, then, assumed that to increase the effectiveness of Public Administration, it is necessary to improve the economic and social conditions of the Civil Servants. Although some speeches also defend administrative reform as a path to achieve this improvement, it becomes clear that “Estado Novo” privileged social solutions. These solutions would lead to some enhancements in the life of the Civil Servants that were also pursued after the Revolution of 1974 and that are, even nowadays, mainly seen as Democratic achievement.