The current economic and political climate places ever greater pressure on public organizations to deliver services in a cost-efficient way. Focused on the costs of service delivery, governments across the world have introduced a series of business like practices – from performance management to public-private partnership – in the belief that these will increase the efficiency of their public services. However, both the debate about public service efficiency and the policies and practices introduced to advance it, have developed without a coherent account of what efficiency means in this context and how it should be realized. The predominance of a rather narrow definition of the term – very often focused on the ratio of inputs to outputs – has tended to polarise opinion either for or against efficiency agenda.

Yet public service efficiency, more broadly conceived, is an inescapable fact of the public manager’s task environment; indeed in the past, the notion of efficiency was central to the emergence of the field of public administration. This book will recover public service efficiency from the relatively narrow terms of recent debates by examining theories and evidence relating to technical, allocative, distributive and dynamic efficiencies.

In exploring the relationship between efficiency and democracy, this book will move current debates in public administration forward by reflecting on the trade-offs between the different dimensions of efficiency that public organizations confront.

About the Author

Rhys Andrews is Senior Research Fellow at Cardiff University, UK. His primary research interests are in strategic management, social capital, organizational structure and public service performance. He is co-editor of the International Public Management Journal

Tom Entwistle is Senior Lecturer in Public Policy and Management and director of the Master’s in Public Administration at Cardiff University, UK. His primary research interests are in the areas of local governance, central-local relations, public-private partnerships and public service performance

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Store Description

The Saint Bookstore has a range of over 1 million titles available.

Visit Seller's Storefront

Seller's business information

SB ONLINE LTD
50 Devonshire Road, Southport, PR9 7BZ, United Kingdom

Sale & Shipping Terms

Terms of Sale

Please order through the Abebooks checkout. We only take orders through Abebooks - We don't take direct orders by email or phone.

Refunds or Returns: A full refund of the purchase price will be given if returned within 30 days in undamaged condition.

As a seller on abebooks we adhere to the terms explained at http://www.abebooks.co.uk/docs/HelpCentral/buyerIndex.shtml - if you require further assistance please email us at orders@thesaintbookstore.co.uk

Shipping Terms

Most orders usually ship within 1-3 business days, but some can take up to 7 days.

Shipping rates from United Kingdom to U.S.A.

Shipping rates from United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Order quantity	7 to 28 business days	7 to 28 business days
First item	US$ 20.27	US$ 22.96

Delivery times are set by sellers and vary by carrier and location. Orders passing through Customs may face delays and buyers are responsible for any associated duties or fees. Sellers may contact you regarding additional charges to cover any increased costs to ship your items.