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Public Administration in Sri Lanka: An Inquiry into Structure, Reforms, and Management

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Civil Service Management and Administrative Systems in South Asia

Abstract

This chapter explains the administrative structure of Sri Lanka, the proliferation of administrative institutions since the 1970s, and the power and relationships between the present administrative institutions at various levels of the bureaucracy. It examines the management and performance of the public sector, the recent reforms introduced by the government, their impact, and emerging issues in the sector. The chapter is based on a document review and a survey of literature on public administration, public sector reforms, New Public Management (NPM) and post-NPM ideas. The chapter fills a gap in the existing literature on public administration and management in Sri Lanka and identifies flaws in its NPM reforms, how they have been put into practice, and prospects for future reforms.

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Liyanage, K., Ramesh, R., Sivakumar, N. (2019). Public Administration in Sri Lanka: An Inquiry into Structure, Reforms, and Management. In: Jamil, I., Dhakal, T., Paudel, N. (eds) Civil Service Management and Administrative Systems in South Asia. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90191-6_13

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