Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on the concepts of public management and reform, and highlights the issues of management deficit and complexity with reference to developing countries. It is paradoxical that developing countries need effective public management reforms, but do not have the resources, skills, and conditions that are necessary for success in such endeavors. Zafarullah and Huque examine the paradoxes and contradictions in public management reform strategies adopted by developing countries from western, liberal, democratic, industrialized countries, and find that they often failed to implement and achieve the desired results in strikingly different contexts. The book deliberates on future research directions for resolving the paradoxes and contradictions of public sector reform in developing countries in light of the evidence from the case studies.