How street-level bureaucrats' traits affect community leaders' assessments of the government

Abstract

Research shows that bureaucrats' performance is shaped by their personal traits, such as public service motivation, cognitive ability, grit, and "big five" personality. What impact do these traits have on citizen assessments of service delivery and governance? To test this question, we randomly assigned police officers to villages during a community-oriented policing program in the Philippines. This program involved meetings between police officers and community leaders, citizens who serve as key conduits between the population and the state. We find that community leaders' assessments of individual officers were meaningfully affected by officers' personal traits, but those traits matter less for assessments of broader institutional efficacy. These findings suggest that bureaucrats' traits can improve public service provision by shaping how citizens approach encounters with specific government representatives. However, they place limits on the suggestion that exceptionally positive (or exceptionally negative) bureaucrats can shape attitudes towards state institutions more generally.

Cite

@article{ravanilla2026bureaucrats,
author  = {Nico Ravanilla and Dotan Haim and Matthew Nanes},
title   = {How street-level bureaucrats’ personalities affect citizen perceptions of the government},
journal = {Journal of Politics},
volume={88},
number={1},
pages={426--430},
year= {2026}
}