Does quantity mean quality? Comparing evidence of bureaucratic capacity and performance between agency groups in Brazil

Abstract This article aims to assess whether the Brazilian government’s preference for enhancing the power and scope of its regulatory agencies compared to its non-regulatory agencies has led to proportional gains in terms of capacity and performance. Regulatory state doctrine espouses the comparative advantages of autonomous regulatory agencies in these areas. We employ principal components and multivariate regression analyses on a survey dataset with over 3,200 respondents to vet this argument. The results do not vindicate claims of regulatory agency’s comparative advantages. Instead, they point to a process of harmonization between the agency groups. This article deepens our understanding of the outcomes of regulatory agencies’ maturation and legitimization within their institutional setting, thereby contributing to public administration scholarship that compares organizations based on their core tasks. It is also of use to policymakers to weigh the pros and cons of delegating powers to autonomous regulators.