Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Dynamics of Public Sector Reforms

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Paradigms and Public Sector Reform

  • 282 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter draws on the discussions so far, and connects to the broader literature on public sector reforms. This chapter discusses the trajectory of reforms by addressing the following questions: Why are public sector reforms initiated? What is included in reform packages? Why do patterns of reforms differ across nations? These questions are central to the ongoing debate in the field about points of convergence and divergence in administration systems and the debate on the theory versus practice in public administration. Discussions are also focused on the reasons why hybridity occurs in public administration. It is concluded that institutional context and the culture of the country where the public sector reforms are applied matters. For solutions, historical experiences within the country are important considerations.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Aberbach, Joel D., and Tom Christensen. 2003. Translating Theoretical Ideas into Modern State Reform: Economics-Inspired Reforms and Competing Models of Governance. Administration and Society 35(5): 491–509.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2005. Citizens and Consumers. Public Management Review 7(2): 225–246.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alford, John, and Owen Hughes. 2008. Public Value Pragmatism as the Next Phase of Public Management. The American Review of Public Administration 38(2): 130–148.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Askim, Jostein, Tom Christensen, Anne Lise Fimreite, and Per Laegreid. 2010. How to Assess Administrative Reform? Investigating the Adoption and Preliminary Impacts of the Norwegian Welfare Administrative Reform. Public Administration Review 88(1): 232–246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baker, Bruce. 2004. Uneasy Partners: Democratisation and New Public Management in Developing Countries. In Contesting Public Sector Reforms, eds. Pauline Dibber, Geoffrey Wood, and Ian Roper. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barzelay, Michael, and Annie Sofie Jacobsen. 2009. Theorizing Implementation of Public Management Policy Reforms: A Case Study of Strategic Planning and Programming in the European Commission. Governance: An International Journal of Policy, Administration and Institutions 22(2): 319–334.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brandsen, Taco, and Sunhyuk Kim. 2010. Contextualizing the Meaning of Public Management Reforms: A Comparison of Netherlands and South Korea. International Review of Administrative Sciences 76(2): 367–386.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Capano, Giliberto. 2003. Administrative Traditions and Policy Change: When Policy Paradigms Matter. The Case of Italian Administrative Reform During the 1990s. Public Administration 81(4): 781–801.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheung, Anthony B.L. 2005. The Politics of Administrative Reforms in Asia: Paradigms and Legacies, Paths and Diversities. An International Journal of Policy, Administration, and Institutions 18(2): 257–282.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheung, Anthony B.L., and Ian Scott. 2003. Governance and Public Sector Reforms in Asia: Paradigms, Paradoxes and Dilemmas. In Governance and Public Sector Reforms in Asia: Paradigm Shifts or Business as Usual, ed. Anthony B.L. Cheung and Ian Scott. New York: Routledge Curzon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Christensen, Tom, and Per Laegreid. 2011. Complexity and Hybrid Public Administration—Theoretical and Empirical Challenges. Public Organization Review 11(4): 407–423.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Common, Richard. 2001. Public Management and Policy Transfer in Southeast Asia. Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dahlstrom, Carl, and Victor Lapuente. 2010. Explaining Cross-Country Differences in Performance-Related Pay in the Public Sector. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 20(3): 577–600.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drechsler, Wolfgang. 2013. Three Paradigms of Governance and Administration: Chinese, Western and Islamic. Society and Economy 35(3): 319–342.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldfinch, Shaun, Karl Derouen, and Paulina Pospieszna. 2013. Flying Blind? Evidence for Good Governance Public Management Reform Agendas, Implementation and Outcomes in Low Income Countries. Public Administration and Development 33: 50–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gresov, Christopher, and Robert Drazin. 1997. Equifinality: Functional Equivalence in Organization Design. The Academy of Management Review 22(2): 403–428.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gualmini, Elisabetta. 2008. Restructuring Weberian Bureaucracy: Comparing Managerial Reforms in Europe and the United States. Public Administration 86(1): 75–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hajnal, Gyorgy. 2005. The Spirit of Management Reforms. Public Management Review 7(4): 495–513.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall, Peter A., and Rosemary C.R. Taylor. 1996. Political Science and the Three New Institutionalisms. Political Studies 44(5): 936–957.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Halligan, John. 2001. Comparing Public Sector Reform in the OECD. In Public Sector Reform: An International Perspective, ed. Brendan C. Nolan. New York: Palgrave.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hernes, Tor. 2005. Four Ideal-Type Organizational Responses to New Public Management Reforms and Some Consequences. International Review of Administrative Sciences 71(1): 5–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, Carolyn J., and Laurence E. Lynn Jr. 2005. Is Hierarchical Governance in Decline? Evidence from Empirical Research. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 15(2): 173–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hood, Christopher. 2000. Paradoxes of Public-Sector Managerialism, Old Public Management and Public Service Bargains. International Public Management Journal 3: 1–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, Owen E. 2003. Public Management & Administration: An Introduction, 3rd edn. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, Lawrence R., and Donald F. Kettl. 2004. Assessing Public Management Reform Strategy in an International Context. In Research in Public Policy Analysis and Management. Research in Public Policy Analysis and Management. Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kickert, Walter. 2011. Disctinctiveness of Administrative Reform in Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain. Common Characteristics of Context, Administrations and Reforms. Public Administration 89(3): 801–818.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klitgaard, Robert. 1997. Cleaning up and Invigorating the Civil Service. Public Administration and Development 17: 487–509.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laking, Rob, and Richard Norman. 2007. Imitation and Inspiration in Public Sector Reform: Lessons from Commonwealth Experiences. International Review of Administrative Sciences 73(4): 517–530.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lane, Jan-Erik. 1997. Public Sector Reform: Only Deregulation, Privatization and Marketization? In Public Sector Reform: Rationale Trends and Problems, ed. Jan-Erik Lane. London: Sage Publications.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Marsh, David, and Allan McConnell. 2010. Towards a Framework for Establishing Policy Success. Public Administration 88(2): 564–583.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moon, Myung-Jae, and Patricia Ingraham. 1998. Shaping Administrative Reform and Governance: An Examination of the Political Nexus Triads in Three Asian Countries. Governance: An International Journal of Policy and Administration 11(1): 77–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moynihan, Donald P. 2006. Managing for Results in State Government: Evaluating a Decade of Reform. Public Administration Review 66(1): 77–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neshkova, Milena I., and Tatiana Kostadinova. 2012. The Effectiveness of Administrative Reform in New Democracies. Public Administration Review 72(3): 324–333.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nolan, Brendan. 2001. Public Sector Reform. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Olsen, Johan P. 2005. Maybe It Is Time to Rediscover Bureaucracy. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 16(1): 1–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Toole, L.J. 2004. The Theory-Practice Issue in Policy Implementation Research. Public Administration 82(2): 309–329.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2009. Structural Change and Public Service Performance: International Lessons? Public Money & Management 29(5): 285–291.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2011. Time and Place in Public Administration: Two Endangered Species? In Julkinnen Hallinto Ja Julkinen Johtaminen (Comparative Public Administration: Essays in Honour of Ari Salminen), 33–53. Vaasa: Vaasa University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pierre, Jon. 2013. Globalization and Governance. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Pollitt, Christopher, and Geert Bouckaert. 2011. Public Management Reform: A Comparative Analysis, 3rd edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rhodes, R.A.W., John Wanna, and Patrick Weller. 2008. Reinventing Westminster: How Public Executives Reframe Their World. Policy and Politics 36(4): 461–479.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sager, Fritz, and Christian Rosser. 2009. Weber, Wilson, and Hegel: Theories of Modern Bureaucracy. Public Administration Review 69(6): 1136–1147.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Samaratunge, Ramanie, Quamrul Alam, and Julian Teicher. 2008. Public Sector Reforms and Accountability: The Case of South and Southeast Asia. Public Management Review 10(1): 101–126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schedler, Kuno, Lawrence R. Jones, and Riccardo Mussari. 2004. Assessment of Public Management Reform and Strategy. In Research in Public Policy Analysis and Management. Research in Public Policy Analysis and Management. Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

    Google Scholar 

  • Talbot, Colin. 2008. Performance Regimes – The Institutional Context of Performance Policies. International Journal of Public Administration 31(14): 1569–1591.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tillema, Sandra, Ni Putu S.H. Mimba, and G. Jan Van Helden. 2010. Understanding the Changing Role of Public Sector Performance Measurement in Less Developed Countries. Public Administration and Development 30(3): 203–214.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Welch, Eric, and Wilson Wong. 1998. Public Administration in a Global Context: Bridging the Gaps of Theory and Practice between Western and Non-Western Nations. Public Administration Review 58(1): 40–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wise, Lois Recascino. 2002. Public Management Reform: Competing Drivers of Change. Public Administration Review 62(5): 555–567.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

    Lhawang Ugyel

Authors
  1. Lhawang Ugyel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Ugyel, L. (2016). Dynamics of Public Sector Reforms. In: Paradigms and Public Sector Reform. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40280-2_8

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation