Governance, Markets and Managerialism; and a Framework for Alternative Approaches

For obvious reasons, much public administration and public-policy research explores the politico-administrative potential for improvement of state welfare services such as education, scientific research and healthcare. However, despite substantial efforts in these fields, clear-cut answers are still lacking. The traditional question is whether public or private provision yields the best outcome for these services, but criticism of both forms has surfaced in recent governance literature. The common basis of criticism is the experience of both state and market failures and the notion that the boundary itself between the public and the private is blurred.