ABSTRACT

Bureaucratic incentives to intervene in the sectors under their administration derive from the collective and individual gains generated by such intervention. This chapter identifies the collective and individual benefits at stake for the bureaucrats in the central ministries. It also elaborates the spin-offs for private sector and political actors who develop their own vested interests in interventionist systems. Finally, the chapter elaborates how bureaucratic policy choice is filtered through the lens of self-interest. Possible alternative explanations of bureaucratic behaviour are evaluated and the distinction carefully drawn between the approach adopted in this book and standard rational choice analysis.