ABSTRACT
In this chapter I will discuss the application of NPM in developing countries. After discussing problems of definition and setting out my working definition of NPM, I will discuss the difficulty that many of us have in defining NPM before moving on to discuss the developing country experience. In discussing that experience I will refer to some other features of public management in developing countries, especially the continuation of ‘traditional’ public administration and the application of what I shall call the ‘Washington model’ of civil service reform. After making some tentative comments on the political context in which NPM is applied, I conclude with a discussion of the prospects of applying NPM on a wider scale.
