Labor skills, efficiency and governance in public administration: Systematic review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22737004Keywords:
public administration, professional competencies, governanceAbstract
This systematic review analyzes the impact of job skills on public sector performance, with an emphasis on operational efficiency, service quality, and institutional governance. The study is grounded in human capital theory (Becker, 1964) and organizational learning theory (Argyris & Schön, 1978) and pursues four specific objectives: to identify the predominant theoretical and methodological approaches, to classify the most studied types of skills, to examine their effects on institutional performance, and to highlight emerging gaps and proposals in the literature. The PRISMA guidelines were followed to select and analyze 25 studies published between 2020 and 2024, retrieved from Scopus and SciELO, most of which were quantitative in design (81%). The results show that transversal competencies—leadership, teamwork, communication, ethical principles, and digital skills—appear in more than 70% of the reviewed studies, and that 74% report concrete positive effects of the competency-based approach on institutional performance, with the greatest concentration of evidence in Peru, Ecuador, Mexico, and Cuba. However, gaps persist between academic training and the actual demands of the state apparatus, as well as difficulties in implementing competency-based management models. Recommendations are formulated to strengthen public governance within the framework of SDGs 16 and 17.
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