'The practice of regulatory impact assessment has long needed a critical Better state regulation is a key component of economic reform. This is the first book to comprehensively explore international experience in the use of Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA), which involves assessing the potential benefits and costs of any regulatory change. The contributors reveal that RIA is being adopted by an increasing number of countries as a route to better regulation with varying degrees of success. The book includes contributions from leading experts on regulatory reform and introduces a range of case studies from developed, developing and transitional economies. Comprehensive in its approach, this book contributes to the literature on evidence-based decision making as part of the new public management. By rigorously examining the principles of better regulation and focusing on the problem of applicability and adoption of RIA practices around the world, it will greatly aid understanding of regulatory policy design and implementation. The book will be invaluable for academics and researchers of public policy and management in developed, developing and transitional countries. It will also be of great practical relevance to government administrators and policymakers challenged by the need to understand the scope and limitations of RIA.

When this book was first published in 1973 there had been little study of the relationships between the organizational structures of public bodies and their use of information technology. This volume was therefore one of the first to describe how such strcures determine computer use, and how technology in turn influence the services provided. It also discusses the changes that computerization brought about in staffing structures and in the role of the specialist, analyses the ways in which they have modified human resource policies and practices and surveys signifcant trends in the employment and career development of IT staff.

This collection is the first of its kind on the topic of media development. It brings together luminary thinkers in the field-both researchers and practitioners-to reflect on how advocacy groups, researchers, the international community and others can work to ensure that media can continue to serve as a force of democracy and development. But that mission faces considerable challenges. Media development paradigms are still too frequently associated with Western prejudices, or out of touch with the digital age. As we move past Western blueprints and into an uncertain digital future, what does media development mean? If we are to act meaningfully to shape the future of our increasingly mediated societies, we must answer this question.

Numerous countries have attempted to improve the performance of their railways by introducing more competition, but there is fierce debate and no consensus on how this is best achieved. This book reveals how railways were an obvious target for reform because they were often losing traffic and money, and because the government was typically deeply involved as either owner or regulator. This book summarizes and assesses the evidence from the experiences of rail reform in Europe, Latin America, and the United States. In short, the book reveals that no one approach has proven to be best across a wide variety of circumstances. It highlights how unbundling (separating infrastructure from train operations so that independent train operators could compete over common tracks) although attractive in theory, has so far proved complex to implement and delivered only some of the promised benefits. Privatization and deregulation have had more demonstrated success in the freight systems of North and South America, but are still largely untested in the more complex railway networks of Europe. The evidence is arguably slightly stronger for privatization and deregulation than for unbundling, but the jury is still out. Competition in the Railway Industry is invaluable in that it compares the strategies and experiences of different countries in introducing competition in railways, rather than simply focusing on one country and its approach. As such, it will appeal greatly to those in industry and government interested in railway policy and performance, and privatization and deregulation of utilities more generally. It will also appeal to academics and researchers of public sector, transport and industrial organization.

This collection is the first of its kind on the topic of media development. It brings together luminary thinkers in the field-both researchers and practitioners-to reflect on how advocacy groups, researchers, the international community and others can work to ensure that media can continue to serve as a force of democracy and development. But that mission faces considerable challenges. Media development paradigms are still too frequently associated with Western prejudices, or out of touch with the digital age. As we move past Western blueprints and into an uncertain digital future, what does media development mean? If we are to act meaningfully to shape the future of our increasingly mediated societies, we must answer this question.

From its beginnings, NASA was convinced that its real mission was to create the opportunity for a much different and better society on Earth, namely through human space flight. Pursuit of such a goal has led the agency to persist in certain activities even when they conflict with the wishes of Congress and the President. Recent changes in the international environment, changes that began well before September 11, 2001, have brought the military back into the field of human space flight, a situation that holds certain hazards for NASA since the military is more powerful politically. Dramatic changes could be in store, changes that could severely damage NASA's capacity for continuing what it sees as its primary objective. While most analyses see the agency as riddled with incompetence, Handberg argues that NASA's troubles are a product of its internal values. He begins with an historical overview of the major themes in NASA's history, followed by chapters on specific areas of concentration, such as the space station, space transportation, space science, and internal reforms. He also discusses the long-term future of the agency and human space flight in general, both domestically and internationally.

The global focus on raising more and better aid and securing debt relief means there is a growing need for clarity on how aid should be spent. More broadly there are questions about what poor country governments must and can do to ensure the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are met. This report argues that the MDGs will not be achieved, and poverty will not be overcome, without universal access to quality basic services--including health and education--provided through strong public systems.Informed by program experience and research, this report highlights critical failings in the approach of many governments and donors to providing basic services for poor people, and the need for a shift in the international consensus about how to increase provision and access to basic services. It argues that only public systems can deliver the scale, equity, and sustainability of basic service provision needed to meet the MDGs and overcome poverty, and that governments and donors need to make radical changes in the way they prioritize, invest in, and support public systems.This accessible, well-referenced report looks critically at success stories in the provision of public services, with case studies from countries including Armenia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, and Uganda. Published in cooperation with WaterAid.

The absurdity of bureaucracy offers a humorous ethnographic account of policy implementation set in contemporary Danish bureaucracy. Taking the reader deep into the hallways of governmental administration and municipal caseworkers' offices, the book sets out to explore what characterizes policy implementation as a mode of human agency. Using the notions of absurdity and sense-making as lenses through which to explore the dynamic relationship between a policy and its effects, the book reclaims 'implementation studies' for the qualitative sciences and emphasizes the existential dilemma that any policymaker and implementer must confront. Following step-by-step the planning and implementation of the randomized controlled trial, Active - Back Sooner, the book sets out to show that 'going wrong' is not a question of implementation failure but is in fact the only way in which implementation may happen. -- .

Public authorities are an increasingly important form of government in the United States. Every year, various public policies are entrusted to public authorities for implementation in the manner of a private firm but for the public interest. This edited collection presents an in-depth examination of the theory and practice of public authority administration and the current issues confronting public authorities in general. Cases are provided to invite discussion about the uses of authorities in different policy areas. The book begins with an introduction that reviews the premises that underlie the public authority concept and describes the policy activities and administrative organization of authorities. The first section of the book focuses on the external and internal techniques used to hold authorities accountable. The second section describes various financial issues relevant to authorities, highlighting ways to improve the security of bonds and providing cases showing how corporate subsidiaries are used to finance projects. The third section explores innovative uses of authorities in the areas of economic development, low-income housing creation, social problem-solving, and hazardous waste disposal. The final section considers the impact of public authorities, using economic impact analysis to measure quantitative benefits of one specific authority and probing the problems in evaluating performance in one state. The book concludes with a selected bibliography and a name and subject index. The book is a useful resource for courses in public administration, public policy, management, state and local government, urban planning, public finance, and political science.

Networks and other collaborations are central to the public sector's ability to respond to their diverse responsibilities, from international development and regional governance, to policy development and service provision. Great strides have been made toward understanding their formation, governance and management, but more opportunities to explore methodologies and measures is required to ensure they are properly understood. This volume showcases an array of selected research methods and analytics tools currently used by scholars and practitioners in network and collaboration research, as well as emerging styles of empirical investigation. Although it cannot attempt to capture all technical details for each one, this book provides a unique catalogue of compelling methods for researchers and practitioners, which are illustrated extensively with applications in the public and non-profit sector. By bringing together leading and upcoming scholars in network research, the book will be of enormous assistance in guiding students and scholars in public management to study collaboration and networks empirically by demonstrating the core research approaches and tools for investigating and evaluating these crucially important arrangements.

The relationship between evil and public affairs, as well as other fields and professions in public life, has come to the fore as institutions of government seek new ways to operate in an environment of extreme mistrust. Unmasking Administrative Evil, 5th Edition argues that the tendency toward administrative evil, as manifested in acts of dehumanization and genocide, is deeply woven into the identity of public affairs. Indeed, ordinary people may simply act appropriately in their organizational role-in essence, just doing what those around them would agree they should be doing-and at the same time, participate in what a critical and reasonable observer, usually well after the fact, would call evil. Even worse, under conditions of moral inversion, ordinary people can all too easily engage in acts of administrative evil while believing that what they are doing is not only correct, but in fact, good. This 5th edition offers important updates, including: A thorough discussion of contemporary virtue ethics as the field has evolved to offer an alternative to technical/rational ethics. An all-new three-part structure (What is Administrative Evil?, History and Cases, and The Future of Ethics in Praetorian Times) designed to aid in course organization and instruction. All-new cases, including an examination of the Flint water disaster, to provide contemporary examples of how populations can be marginalized and harmed by administrative processes that are blind to their consequences until it is too late. Laying the groundwork for a more ethical and democratic public life - one that recognizes its potential for evil, and avoids state-sponsored dehumanization and destruction - Unmasking Administrative Evil, 5th Edition is required reading for all students of administrative ethics and public service ethics, as well those in other administrative sciences.

The Economics of Experiences, the Arts and Entertainment serves as a welcome and unique introduction to various economic aspects of the production and consumption of art and entertainment products. The book begins with analyses and discussion of neoclassical production and utility functions, with a focus on art and entertainment as instances of experience goods or services. The authors then go on to present alternative Austrian and institutional approaches which focus on the role of creative entrepreneurs in the market process. Aesthetic and psychological theories are also discussed with a focus on their impact on producers' and consumers' decisions, as well as historical examples of creative centres, such as Renaissance Florence and Post World War II New York. One important conclusion reached in the book is that there is no economically meaningful way to distinguish art from entertainment, if such a distinction is to be based on the inherent qualities of products. Instead, an analysis of the activities of interest groups, politicians and other gatekeepers to the world of the arts serves to illuminate how a designation as art serves to abolish market prices and suppress competition, in contrast to the much less distorted market for entertainment products. David and Ake E. Andersson's path-breaking book will appeal to scholars and researchers at all levels of academe involved in economics, public sector economics and those with a special interest in art and/or entertainment. Public and private sector managers, planners and administrators in various art and entertainment industries will also find much to engage them within this book.

The Conservative's privatisation programme was one of the most ambitious aspects of their attempt to redraft the political and economic map of the United Kingdom. Originally published in 1988, this book explores the processes of privatisation from a variety of standpoints. Its contributors include academics, enterprise executives and government officials, many of whom had been closely involved in the programme. Fiscal, legal and social aspects of privatisation are explored but the book treats the subject as more than an immediate political issue and takes the opportunity to discuss the success - or otherwise - of public enterprise and to explore the implication of the UK experience for other countries which have an interest in privatisation.

Originally published in 1986, this volume brings together papers on the organisational structure of select public enterprises from nine countries, developed and developing. They are set in different forms, work in different sectors and have diverse experiences, often on similar issues. The papers are written by top executives of the respective enterprises and, therefore, contain an authentic presentation of the problems and processes of organisation. The editor has included, at the beginning, an analytical review on certain fundamental aspects of organisational structure which, for the purpose of this volume, has been conceived in wide terms. Every one of these aspects is not exactly covered by every empirical paper. At the end he has provided a comparative review, trying to keep to a minimum repetition of material from the papers.

The literature on gender and professions shows that professional careers continue to be impacted by gender - albeit with important differences among professions and countries. Much less researched is the issue of the significance of gender and age-cohort or generation to professional work. Gender, Age and Inequality in the Professions explores men's and women's experiences of professional work and careers through an intersectional lens by focusing on the intersection of gender and age. The chapters explore different professions - including Medicine, Nursing, Law, Academia, Information Technology and Engineering - in different Western countries, in the present and over time. Through original research, and critical re-analysis of existing research, each of the chapters explores the significance of gender and age-cohort or generation to professional work, with particular attention to professionals just entering professional careers, those building professional careers, and comparisons of men and women in professions across generational cohorts. The book contributes to literature on inequalities in the professions by demonstrating the ways in which gender and age converge to confer privilege and produce disadvantage, and the ways in which gender inequality is reproduced, and disrupted, through the activities of professionals on the job. The book constitutes a departure point for future research in terms of theoretical perspectives and empirical findings on how gendered and age-related processes are produced and reproduced in particular organisational, professional and socio-cultural contexts. To enhance generational understanding, relationships and collaboration in educational institutions, organisations and professions, the book ends with a section on policy recommendations for educators, professionals, professional organisations as well as policy- and decision-makers. This book will also appeal to students and researchers in the fields of Sociology, Gender Studies, Organisational and Management Studies, Law, Medicine, Engineering and Information Technology as well as related disciplines.

As public organizations seek ways to provide better services and products at lower costs, they are turning more and more to management analysis (MA). This, the first comprehensive guide to the field, will help analysts, managers, and administrators understand how MA can improve output, productivity, and bottom line performance. This volume explains in detail the quantitative and qualitative approaches that management analysts employ in problem solving and enumerates MA's contributions to improving organization's decision making. It also makes clear that the relationship between the analyst and administrator is a collaborative one, and that to achieve excellence each must understand the other's methods of operation, viewpoints, and goals.

Written by practicing management analysts with extensive experience who also teach MA, the book opens with a discussion of MA theory and its many applications, drawing on government regulations and the literature in the field as well as original research. The authors' discussion of the history and development of MA, including current trends, helps the reader understand the nature and direction of the field. The volume also treats the core areas of the practicing management analyst including organization structure, management studies, computers and automation, and productivity, as well as emerging specialities such as policy analysis, program evaluation, and rigorous analytical studies. Because of the growing market for management analysis in private and public sectors, one chapter is devoted to MA services provided by private firms. The realistic approach resulting from the authors' experiences as analysts is supplemented by original empirical research on the conduct and acceptance of studies and evaluations for management, as well as annotated and selected bibliographies. With its focus on the future of MA, the book will be useful not only to other analysts and their clients, but also to the students and teachers of public administration.

This research review discusses some of the most influential literature in the area of empirical health economics. Health economics provides empirical evidence to aid decision-making across a broad spectrum of issues in health and health care. This evidence is often derived from econometric methods. This literature analysis covers landmark contributions to the development and application of these methods which span the field, ranging from structural models, models for health care costs and other microeconometric approaches, including bayesian methods, longitudinal data, applications to health technology assessment, along with field experiments and policy evaluation. This review will be of interest to economic researchers and students as well as health scholar's wishing to explore the development of modern econometrics applied to health policy.

Originally published in 1959, the author has observed at first hand the workings of public enterprise in Britain. He has coupled objectivity with an acute sense of economic perception and has produced a clear and ordered study of the workings of nationalization in industry at the time. His book does not contain an argument on whether nationalization is desirable or not. On the assumption that there is nationalization he attempts to discuss certain important problems raised by it in the fields of management, pricing, resource allocation and public control. He hopes that a discussion of this nature will contribute towards ensuring the most satisfactory results from nationalization.

Originally published in 1971, when nationalized industries employed about 7 per cent of the national labour force, created about 10 per cent of the gross domestic product and had annual investment programmes which were equal to those of all private manufacturing put together. Even this understates the scope of public enterprise at the time, since there were many other organizations, ranging from the BBC to the Public Trustee, which were semi-autonomous public enterprises, but not nationalized industries. Moreover, the public enterprise sector continued to grow, even under Conservative governments, and there were many reasons for thinking that no government would succeed in reversing this trend, for it was felt unlikely that, as government became more complex, it would disgorge many new activities which would be given a semi-autonomous, that is, public enterprise status. The author, drawing on personal experience, shows that the facts of ministerial and parliamentary control were very different from what the public and Parliament thought at the time. He describes the very great practical independence of the Boards and also how much Ministers had come to rely on persuasion (which not only can impose serious waste of time and money on both Boards and Government but is also inefficient). Ministers have least power where the aims of public enterprise are social rather than commercial. If there were no changes, the growth of public enterprise to achieve social purposes would mean an important decline in the power of Parliament and Ministers. This book explores solutions to this problem and concludes that the government must build up a cadre and capacity for financial control which at the time were lacking to it.

This book addresses the nexus of issues exploring governance structures and mechanisms in public service organizations, thus contributing to the development of disciplines that focus on public management. It goes beyond the state of the art by addressing a number of specific issues in a more systematic fashion. The book's interdisciplinary focus is a particularly valuable asset, as its topic is situated at the crossroads of a number of fields, including public management, business administration, corporate governance, policy studies, political science, sociology, and third sector studies, all of which offer important perspectives and are important for the development of public management and public services. The book covers more than Italy and Norway and focuses specifically on public service organizations, addressing more aspects of their governance structures and mechanisms than any other book available today. The unique presentation of features related to the governance and management of different actors (state-owned enterprises, local public utilities, ministries, municipalities, citizens, etc.), involved at different levels in the production and provision of public services, makes it possible to compare and contrast these different perspectives and opens new avenues of theoretical collaboration and development.

Innovation has become an important focus for governments around the world over the last decade, with greater pressure on governments to do more with less, and expanding community expectations. Some are now calling this 'social innovation' - innovation that is related to creating new services that have value for stakeholders (such as citizens) in terms of the social and political outcomes they produce. Innovation in City Governments: Structures, Networks, and Leadership establishes an analytical framework of innovation capacity based on three dimensions: Structure - national governance and traditions, the local socioeconomic context, and the municipal structure Networks - interpersonal connections inside and outside the organization Leadership - the qualities and capabilities of senior individuals within the organization. Each of these are analysed using data from a comparative EU research project in Copenhagen, Barcelona and Rotterdam. The book provides major new insights on how structures, networks and leadership in city governments shape the social innovation capacity of cities. It provides ground-breaking analyses of how governance structures and local socio-economic challenges, are related to the innovations introduced by these cities. The volume maps and analyses the social networks of the three cities and examines boundary spanning within and outside of the cities. It also examines what leadership qualities are important for innovation. Innovation in City Governments: Structures, Networks, and Leadership combines an original analytical approach with comparative empirical work, to generate a novel perspective on the social innovation capacity of cities and is critical reading for academics, students and policy makers alike in the fields of Public Management, Public Administration, Local Government, Policy, Innovation and Leadership.

At a time of growing pressure on health and social care services, this book draws together contributions which highlight contemporary challenges for their management. Providing a range of contributions that draw on a Critical Management Studies perspective the book raises macro-level concerns with theory, demographics and economics on the one hand, as well as micro-level challenges of leadership, voice and engagement on the other. Rather than being an attempt to define the 'wickedness' of problems in this field, this book provides new insights designed to be of interest and value to researchers, students and managers. Contributions from international researchers explore four main topics: identifying contemporary challenges in health and social care; managing, leading and following; listening to silent voices in delivering change; and new methodologies for understanding care challenges. The concerns discussed in this volume are 'wicked' in so far as they are persistent, pernicious and beyond the curative abilities of any single organisation or profession. Such problems require collaboration but also new approaches to listening to those who suffer their effects. This book demonstrates such listening through its engagement with policy makers, leaders, followers, professions, patients, forgotten groups and silenced voices. Moreover, it considers how future research might be transformed so as to shine a more inclusive light on 'wicked' problems and their amelioration. This is a timely and engaging book that challenges you - the reader - to think again about how we should look at, engage with and support all those involved in health and social care.

The choices made by governments about how to reward their top employees reveal a great deal about their values and their assumptions about governing. This book examines rewards of high public office in seven Asian political systems, a particularly rich set of cases for exploring the causes and consequences of the rewards of high public office, having some of the most generous and most meagre reward packages in the world. There are a range of economic, political and cultural explanations for the rewards provided by governments. Likewise, these choices are assumed to have a number of consequences, including variations in the levels of corruption and economic success. Reward for High Public Office includes case studies focusing on Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, New Zealand and Singapore. It will interest students and researchers of politics, public administration and Asian studies.

Medical Professionals: Conflicts and Quandaries in Medical Practice offers a fresh approach to understanding the role-related conflicts and quandaries that pervade contemporary medical practice. While a focus on professional conflicts is not new in the literature, what is missing is a volume that delves into medical professionals' own experience of the conflicts and quandaries they face, often as a result of inhabiting multiple roles. The volume explores the ways in which these conflicts and quandaries are exacerbated by broader societal forces, including changing scientific and technological paradigms, commercialization, and strengthened consumer movements, which simultaneously expand the scope of roles and responsibilities that medical professionals are expected to fulfill, and make it more difficult to do so. Several empirical chapters analyze data from qualitative interview studies with clinicians and other stakeholders. The studies highlight the burdens on clinicians who are expected to make informed and justified judgments and decisions in the midst of competing pressures; authors describe the methods that clinicians use to address the associated tensions within specific contexts. Two conceptual chapters follow and offer some innovative ways to think about the challenges facing medical professionals as they strive to make sense of the changing landscape within healthcare. The first reflects on the challenges to clinical practice in the midst of shifting and often competing definitions of disease and associated ideologies of care. The second reflects more broadly on the utility of value pluralism as a framework for conceptualizing and working through moral and professional quandaries. The book concludes with a chapter containing suggestions for how members of the medical profession might reframe their thinking about their roles, responsibilities, and decision-making in the midst of inevitable quandaries such as those presented here. This book will be of vital reading for academics, researchers, educators, postgraduate students, and interested health care practitioners and administrators.

The absurdity of bureaucracy offers a humorous ethnographic account of policy implementation set in contemporary Danish bureaucracy. Taking the reader deep into the hallways of governmental administration and municipal caseworkers' offices, the book sets out to explore what characterizes policy implementation as a mode of human agency. Using the notions of absurdity and sense-making as lenses through which to explore the dynamic relationship between a policy and its effects, the book reclaims 'implementation studies' for the qualitative sciences and emphasizes the existential dilemma that any policymaker and implementer must confront. Following step-by-step the planning and implementation of the randomized controlled trial, Active - Back Sooner, the book sets out to show that 'going wrong' is not a question of implementation failure but is in fact the only way in which implementation may happen. -- .