ABSTRACT
More specifi cally, our concern is with an effective approach to accountability for public agencies. As the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has recognised, public agencies have managerial autonomy which needs to be offset by planning and control mechanisms, both ex ante (such as budget process), and ex post (such as reporting mechanisms and audit; see OECD 2002). Building on the fi ndings of the OECD, this chapter develops a model for comparative studies of public agency accountabilities. Our model highlights the factors that make the public agency “accountable” using concepts of internal control, political leadership, and citizen satisfaction. We exemplify our model using case study data from Italian public agencies.
