ABSTRACT
As the century draws to a close, more and more elements emerge which indicate that the heyday of public administration and bureaucracy, which has so significantly marked governance and public decision-making over previous generations, may belong to the past. Voices are raised to deregulate the state, to trim down administration and to replace the often overbearing and inefficient command-and-eontrol regulations with newer, more flexible and market-oriented methods to implement public policies. The trend towards deregulation has already affected the outlook, procedures and underlying philosophy of many policy areas, including the field of environmental policy.
