The Reform Of Public Sector Management

Following on from the success of the editors' previous book, New Public Management: The Transformation of Ideas and Practice, which examined the public reform process up to the end of the last decade, this new volume draws on the previous knowledge both theoretically and empirically. It examines and debates the post-new public management reform development in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand. The ideal follow-up to the previous volume, this book includes many of the same contributors in addition to some fresh voices, and is a must for anyone looking for an integrated framework of analysis. Comprehensive and analytical, it is an important contribution to the study of public administration and particularly to the reform of public management.

Theory and Practice of Public Sector Reform offers readers differing theoretical perspectives to help examine the process of public sector reform, combined with an overview of major trends in the core areas of the functioning of the public sector. The book consists of three parts, the first addresses a number of conceptual and theoretical perspectives on public sector reform. It shows how different ways of looking at reform reveal very different things. The second part addresses major changes in specific areas of public sectors – 'objects of reform.’ Part three focuses on the study of public sector reform. Aimed at academics, researchers and advanced students; this edited collection brings together many of the most eminent academics in the area of Public Policy and Management seeking to link to theory in part one and insights into specific thematic areas in part two, offering readers a display of theoretical perspectives to look at public sector reform.

Ongaro has made a major contribution to understanding the political and adminstrative systems of Southern Europe. The work goes beyond that, however, by providing an excellent example of comparative analysis in general. This book should be read by all students of comparative administration. B. Guy Peters, University of Pittsburgh, US and City University of Hong Kong This is an important book for several reasons. Public sector reform debates and policies have been heavily perhaps too heavily influenced by Anglo-Saxon models, and literature on reforms in the Latin part of Europe has, until now, only been available in a fragmented way. However, this unique new book offers a coherent vision across Southern Europe. It refers to important parts of our history and how these still influence current times. It also shows that culture does make a difference, and that contingencies are important. European public sector reform is as diverse as the range of its administrative histories, and this book is therefore crucial in our understanding of the future in relation to the past. Geert Bouckaert, Public Management Institute, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, and European Group for Public Administration This systematic, thorough and insightful book offers one of the very rare comparative studies of public management reform in Italy, France, Greece, Portugal and Spain. A unique and most valuable study. Walter Kickert, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands Scholars of public management reform have been at it for many years but there was always a gap little was really known about southern Europe, those countries that come from the Napoleonic tradition. Now, Professor Edoardo Ongaro of Bocconi University has filled that gap, and we will all profit from his diligent and insightful work. Jeffrey D. Straussman, Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, University at Albany, US Theoretically eclectic and empirically rich, this is a much-needed volume on the dark side of the moon, that is, public management reform outside the Anglo-Saxon world. Edoardo Ongaro sheds light on Italy and four other Napoleonic systems by producing a far-reaching comparative analysis that also captures the effects of Europeanization and multi-level governance on public management reforms. Ambitious yet ultimately accessible, this book is a must-read for those who want to explain and understand the trajectories of reform in their historical context. Claudio Radaelli, University of Exeter, UK The reader will find in Professor Ongaro s book a clear and thorough discussion of the public sector reform process both in Italy and southern European countries based upon a systematic comparative framework. This is a very useful and original work that any student in comparative politics or public administration will highly appreciate. Luc Rouban, CNRS, Centre de Recherches Politiques de Science Po (CEVIPOF), Paris, France This scholarly volume makes an interesting and distinctive contribution to the global public management reform debate by offering an analysis of reform trajectories in an important but rather neglected group of Southern European countries. Ewan Ferlie, King's College London, UK Since the 1980s, a wave of reforms of public management has swept the world. The investigation into the effects of such major transformations has, however, been unbalanced: important countries have received only limited attention. This timely book fills the gap by investigating the dynamics of contemporary public management reform in five European countries that gave shape to the Napoleonic administrative tradition France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain. Edoardo Ongaro presents an in-depth investigation of the reform of public management in these countries, revisiting major topics of theoretical interest in the study of public administration. He addresses key issues regarding the influence of the past on the transformation of the public se

Political scientists mainly from developed, English-speaking countries report on the success and failure of reforms, looking at such areas as budgeting, personnel management, and accountability. They isolate and evaluate factors that influence the outcome, including individual political leaders and the complexity of government. No index. Canadian card order number: C98-900231-4. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Articles from internationally renowned scholars highlighting the connections between public-sector reform and evaluation.

This book compares the trajectories and effects of local public sector reform in Europe and fills a research gap that has existed so far in comparative public administration and local government studies. Based on the results of COST research entitled, ‘Local Public Sector Reforms: an International Comparison’, this volume takes a European-scale approach, examining local government in 28 countries. Local government has been the most seriously affected by the continuously expanding global financial crisis and austerity policies in some countries, and is experiencing a period of increased reform activity as a result. This book considers both those local governments which have adopted or moved away from New Public Management (NPM) modernization to ‘something different’ (what some commentators have labelled ‘post-NPM’), as well as those which have implemented ‘other-than-NPM measures’, such as territorial reforms and democratic innovations.

Governments across the world are pursuing reform in an effort to improve public services. But have these reforms actually led to improvements in services? Evaluating Public Management Reforms develops a framework for a theory-based evaluation of reforms, and then uses this framework to assess the impact of new arrangements for public service delivery in the UK. This book: * identifies the conceptual and practical problems of finding clear criteria for evaluating reforms * focuses on the shifts in public management towards markets and competition, towards the publication of performance indicators, and from larger to smaller organizations * considers what impact these reforms have had on the efficiency, responsiveness and equity of services * comprehensively reviews the evidence on the effects of reform on health care, housing and education * discusses the implications for public sector management.

This volume presents a compelling package for anyone interested in public sector reform. It effectively combines a wide range of well-researched reviews of national experiences with state-of-the-art thematic chapters in key reform areas such as IT governance, public sector leadership and accountability. The result is a robust, insightful and sometimes sobering series of accounts of the promises and pitfalls of efforts to reform the institutions and practices of public governance around the world. A must-read. Paul t Hart, Australian National University This major Handbook provides a state-of-the-art study of the recent history and future development of international public management reform. Through a careful cross-country analysis spanning the last three decades this timely volume critically evaluates whether countries are converging towards a single public management model. The book goes on to investigate unresolved issues surrounding leadership, e-government, accountability and computer systems failure currently facing reformers. Shaun Goldfinch and Joe Wallis have brought together a number of eminent scholars from across Europe, Asia, North America and Australasia to explore the role of economic ideas, human resources and the state of public management reform in twelve countries. Providing a broad global overview of public management and facilitating a greater understanding of the difficult issue of reform, this book will find widespread appeal amongst academics and postgraduate students of public administration as well as practitioners in the field.