The Role of Government

Abstract

What government should or should not do, and having some familiarity with theories about the role of government is of fundamental concern to public managers. In mixed economies there must be some demarcation between those activities that fall in either the public sector or the private sector. The dividing line varies between different nations and at different times, but, in recent years, it is definitely moving away from the public sector and towards the private sector. This transfer of resources and functions to the private sector obviously affects those who work in the public sector or rely on it in some way. If a public activity is less valued by the community, if activities historically provided by governments are being marketised, the rationales for doing these things are of obvious interest to public managers.