Public Sector Reform: Which Way are We Headed? An Overview of Recent Literature and Research Cover Image

Public Sector Reform: Which Way are We Headed? An Overview of Recent Literature and Research
Public Sector Reform: Which Way are We Headed? An Overview of Recent Literature and Research

Author(s): Juraj Nemec, Michiel de Vries
Subject(s): Governance, Public Administration, Government/Political systems, Economic development
Published by: Masarykova univerzita nakladatelství
Keywords: Public sector reforms; New Public Management; public sector internal and external working; Neo-Weberian state;
Summary/Abstract: This paper investigates recent literature and research on public sector reform and aims to answer the question to what degree public administration systems and reformsare still influenced by recommendations flowing from the NPM tradition. This paper distinguishes two dimensions of NPM: the internal and external workings of government. Whereas American scholars such as Osborne and Gaebler wanted primarily to improve the way government works vis-à-vis society, which would in their view only be possible if the public sector would withdraw and leave service delivery to the private sector, European scholars like Hood emphasized the meaning of NPM as a set of recommendations in order to make the public sector better organized and managed internally.