ABSTRACT
The ongoing reforms of the public sectors in the OECD countries present a true challenge for theoretical interpretation. New public management presents a paradigm shift in the conduct of public sector activities. What is involved in the public sector reform in the United Kingdom, in Scandinavia and in Continental European countries as well as in Australia, New Zealand and Canada is a general reconsideration of how government may use and mix markets and bureaucracies in order to achieve its objectives with regard to the provision of goods and services with a special emphasis upon the employment of tendering and contracting out (Halligan and Power, 1992; Boston, 1995; Naschold et al., 1996; Coulson, 1997; Budaus, 1999; Choi, 1999).
