

Meritocratic principles of governmental officials selection: Historical aspect and modern applications
https://doi.org/10.32609/0042-8736-2023-1-45-58
Abstract
The paper reviews historical and modern understanding of meritocracy and meritocratic approaches and practices in the application to the selection of political leaders and governmental officials. A theoretical framework of analyzing meritocracy in the modern science is also considered from the stand-point of various disciplines such as economics, political science, sociology, and as applied to the quality of human capital. Meritocratic principles of selecting candidates for positions in public service in the Western countries differ a lot from the ones used in China and Singapore. China partly revitalizes its ancient traditions of meritocracy, and partly adopts the experience of Singapore where meritocratic principles form the basis of state governance, and where the system of education is oriented at selection and training of the most capable candidates. However, in both countries meritocracy has not yet helped to solve many existing problems, and even more — it creates new concerns and challenges. Therefore, it becomes essential to discuss whether Singapore meritocratic approach is transferable to other countries.
About the Author
A. G. KomissarovRussian Federation
Alexey G. Komissarov
Moscow
References
1. Alishev T. B., Gilmutdinov A. K. (2010). Singapore experience: Creating a worldclass educational system. Voprosy Obrazovaniya, No. 4, pp. 227—246. (In Russian).
2. Gerasimov V. S. (2015). Political meritocracyas Eastern alternative to the Western public administration traditions in the 21st century. MGIMO Review of International Relations, No. 2, pp. 230—237. (In Russian). https://doi.org/10.24833/2071-8160-2015-2-41-230-237
3. Zamov E. (2017). Public thought of the countriesof the East: A textbook. Yekaterinburg: Ural University Publ. (In Russian).
4. Loewe M. (2005 [1968]). Everyday life in early imperial China. Moscow: Tsentrpoligraf. (In Russian).
5. Lee Kuan Yew (2011). Hard truths to keep Singapore going. (In Russian). https://bookscafe.net/read/li_kuan_yu-surovye_istiny_vo_imya_dvizheniya_singapura_vpered_fragmenty_16_intervyu-248134.html#p1
6. Simashenkov P. D. (2015). Meritocracy in the personnel policy of Russia: Lessons of history. Koncept, No. 11, pp. 1—7. (In Russian).
7. Surikov I. (2011). Socrates. Moscow: Molodaya Gvardiya. (In Russian).
8. Young M. (1991). The rise of the meritocracy. In: V. A. Chalikova (ed.). Utopia and utopian thinking: An anthology of foreign literature. Moscow: Progress, pp. 317—346.
9. Akerlof G. A. (1970). The market for “lemons”: Quality uncertainty and the market mechanism. Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 84, No. 3, pp. 488—500. https:// doi.org/10.2307/1879431
10. Bell D. A. (2015). The China model. Political meritocracy and the limits of democracy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
11. Frank R. H. (2016). Success and luck: Good fortune and the myth of meritocracy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
12. Haveman R., Wolfe B. (1995). The determinants of children attainments: A review of methods and findings. Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. 33, pp. 1829—1878.
13. Kuperus H., Rode A. (2008). Top public managers in Europe: Management and working conditions of the senior civil servants in European Union member states. Maastricht: EIPA.
14. Larat F. (2018). Public administration characteristics and performance in EU28: France. Brussels: European Commission.
15. Plug E. (2007). Are successful parents the secret to success? In: J. Hartog, H. Maassen van den Brink (eds.). Human capital: Advances in theory and evidence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 81—98. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511493416.007
16. Wegrich K., Hammerschmid H. (2018). Public administration characteristics and performance in EU28: Germany. Brussels: European Commission.
17. Wong B. (2013). Political meritocracy in Singapore. In: D. Bell, C. Li (eds.). The East Asian challenge for democracy: Political meritocracy in comparative perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 288—313.
18. Ziliotti E. (2020). Political meritocracy and the troubles of Western democracies. Philosophy and Social Criticism, Vol. 46, No. 9, pp. 1127—1145. https:// doi.org/10.1177/0191453720948377
Supplementary files
Review
For citations:
Komissarov A.G. Meritocratic principles of governmental officials selection: Historical aspect and modern applications. Voprosy Ekonomiki. 2023;(1):45-58. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.32609/0042-8736-2023-1-45-58