Costa Rica project 515-0241 · 1989–1996 · good governance · Center for Democracy

Summarizes attached evaluation (XD-ABJ-291-A) of USAID/Costa Rica's support for the Government of Costa Rica's (GOCR) efforts to downsize and reform the public sector. USAID's support is provided under the Policy and Training Support project and two ESF activities. Interim evaluation covers the period 8/89-3/94. The GOCR's public sector reform program has made significant strides, and USAID support has been important to, and in some areas (such as labor mobility, privatization, and customs reform), critical to that success. Specifically, the GOCR program has transformed the banking sector from a state-dominated system to one which is more efficient and market-oriented, and has significantly improved customs administration, reducing the average time for merchandise to pass through customs from 5 weeks to 1 week (although overstaffing and inadequate budgeting are still problems); USAID support ($2.2 million) for customs reorganization, channeled through the local Fundacion de Cooperacion Estatal (FUCE), was indispensable, particularly with respect to computerization and management training. Notwithstanding that it took 10 years to accomplish, the virtual dismantling of the GOCR-ow

Source: DEC abstract, PD-ABJ-291 (1994). The source's own text.