Public Workforce Performance and Prosperity

This report examines how to enhance the effectiveness of the world’s 400 million public sector workers in carrying out essential government functions. Strong development outcomes such as better jobs, improved education and health services, climate action, peace and security, fiscal sustainability, and renewed public trust depend on a capable state, which in turn relies heavily on the skills and motivation of frontline service providers and administrative staff. The report uses a conceptual framework in which workforce performance is shaped by both inputs, particularly the wage bill representing the size, quality, and compensation of public employees, and organizational practices that transform these inputs into outputs. These practices include performance management, training, collaboration, community engagement, and integrity and transparency, all of which influence worker productivity and motivation. Digital technologies, already proven to boost productivity in the private sector, have similarly transformed the public sector, and the report focuses on how these technologies interact with workforce management and how worker and managerial skills affect their adoption. While centered on the public sector workforce, the report does not cover other important determinants of state capacity such as regulations and broader organizational structures.