ABSTRACT
Fiscal limitations restricted the range and type of clientelist favors which the government could offer to its clients. The establishment of a non clientelist process to govern new appointments could be seen as a departure from the dominant political strategy. Macroeconomic consolidation and economic reforms can alter the nature of rent seeking in directions that are unforeseen and, often, undesirable for the party in government, and can disturb established social and political relations. Fiscal constraints may make it impossible for the government to accommodate the mass demands for forms of patronage that are fiscally costly, such as appointments in the public sector. Economic restructuring may leave intact the scope for corruption inside the public sector by cliques of public officials and employees with patronage linkages to senior party politicians and state officials. Corruption flourishes in an environment of loose law enforcement, political protection and favoritism.
