Free standard shipping on all orders

Unbundled Government: A Critical Analysis of the Global Trend to Agencies, Quangos and Contractualisation book cover

1st Edition

Unbundled Government A Critical Analysis of the Global Trend to Agencies, Quangos and Contractualisation

Edited By Christopher Pollitt, Colin Talbot Copyright 2004
    368 Pages
    by Routledge

    368 Pages
    by Routledge

    Public sector bureaucracies have been subjected to harsh criticism. One solution which has been widely adopted over the past two decades has been to 'unbundle government' - that is to break down monolithic departments and ministries into smaller, semi-autonomous 'agencies'. These are often governed by some type of performance contract, are at 'arm's length' or further from their 'parent' ministry or department and are freed from many of the normal rules governing civil service bodies.

    This, the first book to survey the 'why' and the 'how' of this epidemic of 'agencification', is essential reading for advanced students and researchers of public management.  It includes case studies from every continent - from Japan to America and from Sweden to Tanzania, these 14 case studies (some covering more than one country) critically examine how such agencies have been set up and managed.

    Part One: Setting the Scene 1. Managers managing? The international trend towards agencies, quangos and contratualization Colin Talbot 2. Patterns of structural change Geert Bouckaert and Guy B. Peters Part Two: Agencies, Quangos and Contracts in the Heartlands of the New Public Management 3. Adapting the agency concept: variations within 'Next Steps' Francesca Gains 4. Executive agencies and joined-up government in the UK Oliver James 5. Contracting and accountability: a model of effective contracting drawn from the U.S. experience Jocelyn Johnston and Barbara Romzek 6. Contractualism and performance measurement in Australia Linda McGuire 7. The agency concept in North America: failure, adaptation and incremental change Andrew Graham and Alasdair Roberts Part Three: Autonomization in Continental Europe and Japan 8. Quangos in Dutch government Sandra van Thiel 9. Lost in translation? Shifting interpretations of the concept of 'agency': the Dutch case Amanda Smullen 10. Central agencies in Sweden: a report from Utopia Jon Pierre 11. Agencification in Japan Kiyoshi Yamamoto Part Four: Autonomization in the Developing and Transitional Countries 12. New Public management in a developing country: creating executive agencies in Tanzania Janice Caulfield 13. Agencies in Thailand Bidyha Bowornwathana 14. The design, performance and sustainability of semi-autonomous revenue authorities in Africa and Latin America Robert R. Taliercio Jr 15. Castles built on sand? Agencies in Latvia Christopher Pllitt 16. Agencies in Jamaica Colin Talbot Part Five: Overview 17. Theoretical overview Christopher Pollitt

    Biography

    Christopher Pollitt is currently Professor of Public Management at Erasmus University, Rotterdam. He has worked as a UK civil Servant, as an academic and consultant. He has been President of the European Evaluation Society and has advised many public organisations and the European Commission. Colin Talbot is currently Professor of Public Policy at the University of Nottingham and head of the Nottingham Policy Centre. He has worked in the public sector, as an academic and consultant and founded the consulting group 'Public Futures'. He has been a Special Advisor to the UK Public Administration Select Committee and advised many public organisations, in the UK and internationally.

    Add to Cart