Discretionary power in the light of the theory of street-level bureaucracy: a study conducted in the state of Amazonas

Abstract

Street-level bureaucrats are public servants who directly deliver services to users and who have the ability to modify public policy through their discretion. Thus, we sought to understand the discretionary power of interviewers and social workers who work in the Register for Social Programs
(CadÚnico) in the state of Amazonas. This objective was achieved through qualitative and descriptive methods. To obtain the data, the methods field research were chosen, with the use of interviews and direct observation, and documentary research, through the use of manuals and standards. To carry out the field research, eight units of care of the Single Registry were selected, distributed in four municipalities. Twenty-nine factors were identified that  influence the discretionary behavior of bureaucrats, which were organized into eight categories: individual or personal, organizational or institutional, managerial,  relational, structural, contingency, professional and  geographic. Among these categories, the “geographical” category represents an important innovation in this study because, as well as advancing on what is presented in the literature, it proved to be significant in the results of the  policies analysed.