Meritocracy in a Bureaucracy

Abstract: Bureaucracies often design rules and constrain discretion to avoid nepotism. Yet such rules may not be necessary in cases where the interests of the decision-maker and the bureaucracy are aligned. I examine discretionary promotions of junior Pakistan Administrative Services (PAS) bureaucrats, in a setting where corruption and nepotism are viewed as the norm. I compile unique data on the abilities of junior officers, including both publicly available recruitment exam rank and information on job performance that is private to senior officials. Results show that seniors use both public and private information meritocratically in making these fast-track promotions. Despite no explicit incentives, seniors are equally meritocratic when choosing and promoting juniors for other teams as for their own teams. This is consistent with implicit incentives aligning incentives.