Public Management Reform: A Comparative Analysis - New Public Management, Governance, and the Neo-Weberian State

Since its publication in 2000, Public Management Reform has established itself as the standard text in the field, presenting a comparative analysis of recent changes in Public Management and Public Administration in a range of countries in Europe, North America, and Australasia.

This third edition has been completely rewritten to incorporate a mass of recent empirical data and to introduce a new theoretical and conceptual framework by identifying three leading visions of reform. Chapters analyze key debates, the process of change, different national systems and trajectories, results, political factors, and paradoxes and trade-offs in an integrated volume.

Covering reforms over a thirty-year period (1980-2010), the book offers a detailed and structured comparison of twelve countries and the EU Commission by means of an unparalleled synthesis of evidence and sources. Extensive factual appendices provide an invaluable resource for students.

Christopher Pollitt was previously Professor of Government and Dean of Social Sciences at Brunel University (London -1990-98) and Professor of Public Management at Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam (1999-2006). Christopher is author of more than 50 scientific articles and author or editor of more than a dozen scholarly books. He is a past editor of Public Administration, and currently edits the International Review of Administrative Sciences. He has also undertaken extensive consultancy and advice work for a wide variety of organizations, including the European Commission, the OECD, the World Bank, H.M Treasury, the Finnish Ministry of Finance, the Dutch Ministry of the Interior and the Danish Top Executives Forum.

Geert Bouckaert is past-President of the European Group for Public Administration, and Chair of the Scientific Committee of the International Institute of Administrative Sciences. He publishes extensively on performance management and reform in the public sector.