Affiliations: Institute of Government and Public Affairs, Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences, Austral University of Chile/Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile | Tel.: +56 632 223 072; E-mail: jose.hernandez01@uach.cl
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Institute of Government and Public Affairs, Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences, Austral University of Chile/Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile. Tel.: +56 632 223 072; E-mail: jose.hernandez01@uach.cl.
Abstract: Does compliance with open government reforms imply openness? Based on an institutional framework, this article analyses the implementation of two open government reforms – the Access to Information and Citizen Participation laws – in three Chilean municipalities. The results suggest that how formal rules interact with informal strategies could explain the different outcomes of open government reforms and that compliance does not necessarily lead to openness. In contrast, the complexity of formal and informal interaction, defined by the strength of formal laws and their convergence with local informality, can produce counterproductive results on local governance.
Keywords: Open government, local governance, informal institutions, institutional weakness, access to information, public participation
