The first comprehensive 'bird's eye' account of public sector reform supported by references from over 400 official sources, this book is an invaluable guide to all those in the public, private and voluntary sectors grappling with the twin challenges of managing public spending austerity and the pressure in response to transform public services.

Present day knowledge about public sector reforms in Asia is quite scattered and seldom focuses on the challenges of leadership. This book seeks to address this issue by presenting country cases that reflect the great diversity of the region.

This paper explains why tough public sector reform and a sound macroeconomy are essential to sustained growth. It provides a strategy to help countries evaluate how well their governments' policies work. Decisionmakers will learn ways to build an evaluations program that can make governments more accountable and improve their performance. Some options could include making central banks independent, eliminating earmarked funds, and balancing the national budget. The author suggests which government offices should oversee and develop evaluation policies to get the best results, and explains why evaluation results must be linked with all budget decisions. He describes the political and economic environment that allows the evaluation process to develop freely. Also discussed is the role that the World Bank and other insti- tutions should play in supporting evaluation programs. The study examines how sound evaluation can lead to more consistent international policies and better international governance.

Have the underlying ideas behind New Public Management (NPM) been forgotten ? This book investigates whether this idea is reflected in the real world of public administration or if it is mere wishful thinking. The investigations in this volume comprise studies of not only European countries, but also major Asian, African and Latin-American countries, that is, countries of which much less is known regarding the developments in Public Administration reform. It provides the reader with a remarkable overview of what is actually happening in countries all over the world. More importantly, the chapters provide ample information which is indicative for an answer to the question raised above: What has remained of NPM and what is the role of NPM tools in public administration today?

New Zealand's reforms of economic policy and public sector management systems have attracted international attention. Beginning in 1984, the country adopted a comprehensive and vigorous program of macroeconomic adjustment that involved redefining the state's role in the economy and social policy. This paper provides an overview of the central frameworks of government management in New Zealand, with particular emphasis on financial management.

Articles from internationally renowned scholars highlighting the connections between public-sector reform and evaluation.

'Written by an impressive array of experts, this book surveys local government reforms in six advanced democracies, federal and unitary, which share a municipal legacy: Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK, and the US. . . The book has an excellent bibliography and will help open up a field heretofore noted for its insularity. Recommended.' - A.J. Ward, Choice

Pakistan, after fifty eight years of existence, was faced with a governance crisis. Certain significant political and economic developments in the international environment were having a profound impact on the country. Pakistan was faced with complex and daunting challenges threatening its stability. These challenges were: regional dynamics after the launch of the 'Global War on Terrorism' by the USA; democratisation, the universal quest for re-inventing government, the apparent triumph of capitalism, and the paradigm shift towards sustainable development. This book presents political, economic, legal and public issues during the reformation era of Pakistan's decentralising government.

This volume presents a compelling package for anyone interested in public sector reform. It effectively combines a wide range of well-researched reviews of national experiences with state-of-the-art thematic chapters in key reform areas such as IT governance, public sector leadership and accountability. The result is a robust, insightful and sometimes sobering series of accounts of the promises and pitfalls of efforts to reform the institutions and practices of public governance around the world. A must-read. Paul t Hart, Australian National University This major Handbook provides a state-of-the-art study of the recent history and future development of international public management reform. Through a careful cross-country analysis spanning the last three decades this timely volume critically evaluates whether countries are converging towards a single public management model. The book goes on to investigate unresolved issues surrounding leadership, e-government, accountability and computer systems failure currently facing reformers. Shaun Goldfinch and Joe Wallis have brought together a number of eminent scholars from across Europe, Asia, North America and Australasia to explore the role of economic ideas, human resources and the state of public management reform in twelve countries. Providing a broad global overview of public management and facilitating a greater understanding of the difficult issue of reform, this book will find widespread appeal amongst academics and postgraduate students of public administration as well as practitioners in the field.

New thinking about the management of public health services has stimulated a widespread movement for health sector reform across the world. This book examines the feasibility and desirability of common reforms in low income countries, based on in-depth case studies in Ghana, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand, and asks whether governments possess or can develop the capacities needed for these new and often complex roles. The book challenges conventional reform wisdom, and argues that reform approaches are needed that are more sensitive to the institutional characteristics of individual countries.