ABSTRACT
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.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part |2 pages
Part I Setting the scene
chapter 1|19 pages
The Agency idea
part |2 pages
PART II Agencies, quangos and contracts in the heartlands of the New Public Management
chapter 5|19 pages
Contracting and accountability
chapter 7|25 pages
The agency concept in North America: failure, adaptation and incremental change
part |2 pages
Part III Autonomization in continental Europe and Japan
chapter 9|19 pages
Lost in translation? Shifting interpretations of the concept of ‘agency’: the Dutch case
part |2 pages
Part IV Autonomization in the developing and transitional countries
chapter 12|18 pages
New public management in a developing country
chapter 13|17 pages
Putting new public management to good use
part |2 pages
Part V Overview