EL SISTEMA PARA LA ADMINISTRACIóN DE LA COOPERACIóN INTERNACIONAL EN COSTA RICA

There is a presumption among public administrators, opinionmakers and the public, that irregularities found inrecent years in the management of projects funded in theCosta Rican public sector with resources from internationalcooperation have been the result of gaps in the regulatoryframework that supports the management systemfor such cooperation. Whether there is a factual basis forthat assumption is determined through a qualitative researchmethodology and through the analysis of variouselements such as: legal framework, institutional actors, relevantskills and processes related to cooperative activity,and the study of empirical available evidence. It is concludedthat there is no evidence to support that the implementationof reforms in the regulatory framework governingsuch cooperation in Costa Rica is an effective way tomodify certain practices considered deficient or irregular;the evidence suggests that the human factor has beena much more important variable than any weakness inpolicy design as an explanation for the deficiencies in management.