On the ground floor of government, citizens interact with teachers, medical staff, police officers and other professionals in public service. It is during these encounters that laws, public policies and professional guidelines gain further substance and form. In this insightful book, Peter Hupe brings together expert contributions from scholars across the globe to study the social mechanisms behind these public encounters. Integrating empirical case studies with cutting-edge theory, The Politics of the Public Encounter investigates what happens when citizens meet the state. Adopting a realist perspective, contributors examine the dichotomy between what is expected to happen and what actually happens at the street level of government. Chapters explore topics such as rule application and individual agency, the relationship between discretion and accountability, the consequences of digitalization and citizens' impression management. Hupe concludes with a reflective essay and gives an account of what has been left aside, advancing a clear agenda for future research into the relationship between citizen and state. Advanced students and scholars of law, political science, public administration, sociology and philosophy interested in the mechanisms behind the citizen/state encounter will benefit from the book's multi-disciplinary approach. Its realist insights will also be an essential reference point for public service professionals.

This visionary Research Handbook presents the state of the art in research on policy design. By conceiving policy design both as a theoretical and a methodological framework, it provides scholars and practitioners with guidance on understanding policy problems and devising accurate solutions. Chapters discuss the major approaches to policy design as well as the challenges that confront policy designers and academics interested in improving this framework. More than 40 expert contributors operationalise the policy design framework around different models of causation, evaluation, instrumentation and intervention to explain and improve policy outcomes. This framework sheds new light on the nature of policy problems and the means to address these problems, while also explaining if and how a policy fits into the broader social and political environment. The Research Handbook considers not only the process of designing, and the roles that individuals and institutions play in the political process of revising and creating new policies, but also the outcome of the designing process: policy design as a plan for action. Providing a practical alternative to the conventional theories of the policy process like the policy cycle, this Research Handbook will be critical reading for scholars and students of public policy, political theory and public administration and management. It will also be beneficial for policy makers interested in improving the ways in which they formulate public policies.

This timely Research Agenda examines the ways in which public-private partnerships (PPPs) in infrastructure continue to excite policy makers, governments, research scholars and critics around the world. It analyzes the PPP research journey to date and articulates the lessons learned as a result of the increasing interest in improving infrastructure governance. Expert international contributors explore how PPP ideas have spread, transferred and transformed, causing supporting markets to develop and mature. Providing a multidisciplinary perspective on the topic, this thought-provoking Research Agenda proposes a range of future research directions, pointing towards the potential of fresh research approaches to PPP, the adoption of new theories and intellectual lenses, better balancing of public-private interests, and stronger public governance across what has now become a global phenomenon. It lights the way to diverse research frontiers ranging from financialization to psychology and behavioural science, as well as the continuing prominence of public administration, politics, economics, planning and law. A Research Agenda for Public-Private Partnerships and the Governance of Infrastructure will be an enticing read for students and scholars of regulation and governance, public management and administration, politics and economics as well as industry professionals across the domains of public policy, infrastructure and city planning.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. In this updated second edition, internationally renowned scholar B. Guy Peters provides a succinct introduction to public policy and illustrates the design approach to policy problems. Peters demonstrates how decision-makers can make more effective choices and why a design approach to public intervention can improve policy formulation. Key features of the second edition include: Analytical identification and evaluation of the vital components of policy design Reflections on the challenges posed by Covid-19 and public policy solutions An expanded overview of evaluation and behavioral public policy analysis Critical discussions of alternatives to cost-benefit analysis. Offering a timely and concise approach to the field, this book will be crucial for high-level students who are new to public policy, as well as scholars and researchers hoping to improve and advance their understanding of the design perspective. Its analytic and theoretical grounding will also prove useful for policy practitioners, enabling sophisticated solutions to common policy problems.

This authoritative Dictionary provides comprehensive definitions of key terms in public policy. Unpacking the increasingly complex and diffusive world of public policy, it offers an exhaustive definitional guide to the terminology utilised by contemporary policy scholars. Prepared by a team of expert scholars, entries summarise the social, political and economic contexts of fundamental public policy vocabulary and dissect its usage in modern scholarship. Entries are meticulously cross-referenced to guarantee accessibility and illuminate a broad yet detailed understanding of topics. Providing recommendations for further reading, it features 330 carefully defined entries to aid researchers investigating both novel and historical approaches to public policy. Assembling a broad overview of the discipline, this Dictionary is a useful reference book for students at all levels and early-career researchers. It will also benefit policy practitioners looking for a superior understanding of the crucial vocabulary that governs their field.

A holistic and extensive exploration of both the dynamic and incremental changes in EU public policy and the decision processes surrounding them, this Elgar Encyclopedia is the definitive reference work in the field of EU public policy. Unifying theoretical insights with empirical phenomena, this pioneering Encyclopedia begins by engaging with the multi-level structure of the EU's polity and identifies how this affects public policy, considering the role of various non-state actors in EU policymaking, and the concepts of Europeanization and policy diffusion. Offering a theoretical introduction to policy integration, it examines intergovernmentalism, neofunctionalism, and postfunctionalism, alongside an innovative analysis of policy styles and the effects of recent crises on EU public policy, including COVID-19 and populism. Chapters conclude by reflecting on policy implementation and dynamics, and the impact of feedback on public policies and institutions. Ultimately demonstrating that the study of public policy in the EU has produced a set of EU-specific analytical perspectives, this timely book will guide further research avenues into EU public policy for students and scholars interested in (EU) public policy, public administration and comparative politics, alongside informing the decision-making of policymakers globally. Key Features: Accessible format split into 9 thematic parts Fully cross-referenced with select bibliographies for further reading Entries written by an international and interdisciplinary group of over 90 preeminent experts in the field of public policy

This comprehensive Encyclopedia is an essential reference text for students, scholars and practitioners in public management. Offering a broad and inter-cultural perspective on public management as a field of practice and science, it covers all the most relevant and contemporary terms and concepts. Organised into six thematic sections for ease of reference, the Encyclopedia comprises 78 entries written by nearly 100 leading international scholars. Entries provide a concise and accessible overview of key ideas as well as highlighting current issues and emerging areas of study. This Encyclopedia will be an important resource for students and scholars of public management as a starting point for research. It will also be useful for practitioners looking for a deeper understanding in their everyday work, as well as explanations of terms used by consultants and scholars. Key Features: Over 70 entries Accessible explanations of key concepts Cross-referenced to facilitate further reading Organised into thematic sections for ease of reference

Nowhere in the world presents a more dramatic case of wealth creation than East Asia. Contrary to the common belief that social policy in the economic powerhouses of the region is secondary to their pursuit of economic growth, Gyu-Jin Hwang argues that it has in fact played an integral part in building strong states and competitive market economies. Building Markets examines the original four Newly Industrialised Economies (NIEs) of East Asia: Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan, as well as Japan, the regional forerunner in both economic and social terms. Chapters undertake a comparative analysis of the various social policy measures and redistributive efforts taken across a diverse range of social policy sectors in the region, covering cash transfers, healthcare, education, housing, and family policy. Addressing the mounting pressure on East Asian economies to rethink their growth strategies, Hwang concludes with a call for social means to be diverted, adapted, and converted to serve new social ends. Integrating cutting-edge theoretical insights with detailed policy analysis, Building Markets will be an invaluable tool for academics and postgraduate students interested in social policy, economics, and development in East Asia.

Political leaders and institutions across the Global South are continually failing to respond to the needs of their citizens. This incisive book sets out to establish the pathways to and outcomes of accountability in a development context, as well as to investigate the ways in which people can seek redress and hold their public officials to account. Providing a timely complement to the current literature on accountability, the book features contributions from a diverse range of experienced and up-and-coming scholars and practitioners across the globe. Chapters explore questions of how improved accountability relations emerge, under what conditions they can be maintained, and what role civil-society actors, donors, and new ICT tools can and should play in developing countries. Integrating empirical case studies from Brazil, Egypt, India, Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia with a strong theoretical framework on accountability relations, the book delivers a comprehensive analysis of accountability initiatives across the Global South and ultimately reflects on how they contribute to reaching the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16. This insightful book will be an essential resource for academics, policymakers, and practitioners worldwide who are engaged in enhancing public sector accountability and implementing SDG 16. It will also help to guide social movements and citizen-led action.

This critical book focuses on two dominant reform agendas - managerialism and politicisation - to examine the condition of Anglophone countries after 40 years of reform to public sector management and governance. Comparing four countries using the Westminster system - Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom - John Halligan explores the changes resulting from distinctive reform agendas, exposing performance shortfalls and unintended consequences, such as bureaucratisation. Offering a broad overview of the implementation and outcomes of key administrative developments, Halligan unpacks those traditions and conventions of governance in Anglophone countries that have been disrupted by unrestrained political executives, producing dramatic imbalances in management and governance systems. Judicious and incisive, this book will be crucial reading to postgraduate and advanced undergraduate students of public policy seeking an in-depth understanding of both historic and contemporary reforms to public management and governance. Halligan's comparative approach to public management systems will also benefit government practitioners and specialists working closely with governments.

Megaprojects for Megacities is a collection of 14 international case studies of transportation, urban development, and environmental megaprojects completed during the last ten years in North America, Asia and Europe. It goes beyond the previous megaproject literature to look at how and why each project was conceived, planned, engineered, financed, and delivered, and how particular planning and delivery practices shaped successful and unsuccessful outcomes. With individual chapters on high-speed rail, urban metro systems, bus rapid transit, roadway tunnels and bridges, new and improved airports, waterfront redevelopment projects, new towns, urban parks and renewable energy projects, this book is unparalleled in its coverage, depth and takeaways for practice. It incorporates current examples from across the world, including North America, Asia, the UK, and Europe. This collection of case studies is presented in an approachable way that will prove valuable to academics, researchers and students as well as practicing professionals, financiers and senior government officials interested in infrastructure planning, financing, project management and delivery.

Building upon the body of existing literature that has established the importance of norms in understanding why genders interact with social phenomena differently, and how gender plays a role in most aspects of corruption, this cutting-edge book expands the fields to explore the nexus between norms, gender and corruption. Making a timely and innovative contribution to all three streams of research, the book dives deeper into the role of norms in understanding the relationship between gender and corruption. An international, multidisciplinary group of experts combine global qualitative, in-depth case studies with large scale quantitative analysis to demonstrate the complementary use of different methods in the fields of gender, norms and corruption. Considering gendered differences in attitudes towards, and experiences of, corruption, the chapters examine political and institutional participation in corruption, looking closely at gender representation, stereotypes, and norms-based barriers. Analysing norms from different perspectives, with the main focus on social norms, this forward-thinking book makes a convincing case for why norms should be included in the research agenda on gender and corruption. Interdisciplinary in scope, this insightful book will prove invaluable to students and scholars of gender politics, social policy and sociology, and law, regulation and governance. It will also prove a useful reference guide to policymakers concerned with the relationship between gender and corruption.

Bringing together transnational perspectives on urban narration, this innovative book analyses how a combination of tales, images and discourses are used to brand, market and (re-)make cities, focusing on the actors behind this and the conflicts of power that arise in defining and governing city futures. Reflecting theoretically on the role of storytelling in urban contexts, an international range of leading scholars analyse how the re-making of cities is governed. Undertaking detailed empirical case studies across France, Hong Kong, the UK and the US, chapters provide comparative perspectives on a broad range of urban narratives, including alternative narratives within and across cities. Cases examined include the smart city of Hong Kong, the multi-city economy of England's Northern Powerhouse, and resistance and resilience in Lyon and Pittsburgh. Ultimately, this insightful book underlines the importance of urban narratives in the government and governance of cities. With global scope, this book will prove a valuable resource for students and scholars of urban affairs, politics, geography and public administration who are interested in narrative approaches, alongside various stakeholders and policy makers working in city governance.

What are the dynamics around the quality and quantity of municipal services in South Africa? What kind of systemic, structural and managerial adjustments should be made to improve local government? Who decides what in municipalities? How could active citizen participation in local affairs be stimulated? These and other questions are addressed in Municipal Management: Serving the people.

The authors take a bird’s-eye view of issues such as the constitutional dispensation, regulatory frameworks, municipal administrative and managerial systems, community and political dynamics, as well as municipal functions and services.

This 4th edition reflects new features of, and the latest developments in, the local sphere of government, which makes the book even more relevant to:

• Contextualise the local sphere of government within a system of co-operative governance and intergovernmental relations
• Appreciate the role and functioning of local, district and metropolitan municipalities in South Africa
• Uncover core municipal policies, strategies and programmes
• Comprehend the significance of municipal capacity for effective resource utilisation and service delivery
• Pinpoint best practice regarding managerial systems, processes and procedures

This book provides an understanding of how public organizations adapt to and manage situations characterized by fluidity, ambiguity, complexity and unclear technologies, thus exploring public governance in times of turbulence. An impressive selection of scholars present their research on governance in turbulent times and explore how public organizations adapt flexibly in turbulent situations. The editors introduce a diverse analytical toolkit contributing not only to an understanding of the role of complexity in public governance, but also suggesting how organizational formats may serve as usable design tools available to decision-makers in the pursuit of sustainable and responsible governance. Chapters explore a variety of topics and cases including artificial intelligence, antimicrobial resistance and sexuality education. Providing a broad coverage of empirical cases and a global outlook, this book will be an excellent read for scholars and practitioners in political science and public administration, as well as policy makers with interests in governance, leadership and citizen engagement.

Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary. Transport significantly affects everyday life in our modern world. Highlighting key challenges and opportunities, this Research Agenda identifies current and future themes that are central to both research and practice in the transport sector. With chapters written by eminent scholars and practitioners, it provides readers with a state-of-the art analysis of the topic. This Research Agenda identifies areas of research required to inform transport policy development that will in turn support improved societal outcomes. Chapters examine transport policy from a range of different viewpoints, offering insights into socio-economic environments, the importance of technology, and the differing approaches to transport policy across five continents. Transport is on the cusp of major transformation, and such disruptive change demands the broad, integrated approach that this Research Agenda provides. Written in a non-technical style, this book will appeal to transport policy practitioners, looking to improve current infrastructure to better suit the needs of the future. Public policy and geography scholars focusing on the impact and importance of transport will also find this to be a valuable read.

This timely book questions the premise that Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) have a performance advantage over traditionally procured projects, an assumption that motivates policymakers worldwide to enter into such contracts. Taking stock of novel research comparing the differences in performance between PPP and traditionally procured infrastructure projects and services, the chapters in this book thoughtfully scrutinise this supposed advantage. Adopting a quasi-experimental design, the book advances the evidence base on the performance advantage of PPPs. Insightful contributions from renowned scholars undertake an in-depth investigation of three key performance dimensions: cost, time, and service quality. Broad in scope, studies span countries in Asia, Europe, and South America, as well as a diverse range of policy sectors, including transport, healthcare, road safety, education, and sporting facilities. This comprehensive assessment produces several conclusions, but ultimately determines that evidence for a cost performance advantage remains mixed, while PPPs are proven to clearly outperform traditional alternatives in terms of time and service quality. Empirical in focus and spanning multiple policy sectors, this incisive book will be an invaluable resource not only for PPP scholars, but also for researchers and practitioners involved in public administration, public management and policy, and infrastructure planning and delivery worldwide.

Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary. This unique Research Agenda addresses salient current issues in evaluation research, offering a broad perspective on the role of evaluation in society. International expert contributors explore how evaluation research is not only academic research engaged in practical problem-solving, but is also research that takes a critical look at this engagement, providing inspiration for reflexivity among evaluators. Drawing on a range of perspectives, including sociology, organization theory, psychoanalytic theory, and feminism, chapters analyse examples of how evaluation works in a number of arenas, such as education, research, and voluntary work. Taking a critical look at evaluation as a social phenomenon, this Research Agenda will be a useful resource for scholars and students of evaluation, public administration and management, and public policy. It will also be beneficial in helping practitioners and researchers to understand the major emerging issues within the field of evaluation.

This original and insightful book considers the ways in which public law, which emphasises legality (the Demos), and economics, a science oriented towards the markets (the Agora), intertwine. Throughout, George Dellis argues that the concepts of legality and efficiency should not be perceived separately. An Economic Analysis of Public Law shows that combining these two disciplines allows for a more realistic view of decision-making and human action, leading to the creation of a 'new' public law that improves the functioning of non-consensual institutions. The book explores the ways in which this will lead to a better coexistence of Demos and Agora, especially in modern times of globalisation and competition among regulators. Chapters cover almost all aspects of the economic analysis of public law, such as the importance of economic analysis, design and decision-making for public institutions, and a general economic theory for public law and regulation. Students, scholars and researchers in disciplines such as law and economics, European and public law in general, as well as the philosophy of law will find this book to be a valuable resource. It will also be a companion for anyone who is interested in understanding how the Law of the State and the State itself evolve in the current, globalised world.

Ministerial administrations are pivotal in the process of defining problems and developing policy solutions due to their technocratic expertise, particularly when this process is applied to climate policy. This innovative book explores how and why policies are changed or continued by employing in-depth studies from a diverse range of EU countries. Climate Policy in Denmark, Germany, Estonia and Poland works to narrow the research gap surrounding administrative institutions within the field of climate policy change by integrating ideas, discourses and institutions to provide a better understanding of both climate policy and policy change. Differences in approach to democratization and Europeanization between Western and Central Eastern European countries provide rich empirical material for the study of policy formulation. This timely book demonstrates how the substance and formation of policies are shaped by their political and administrative institutional contexts. Analytical and accessible, this discerning book will be of value to scholars and students of climate policy, public policy and public administration alike. Providing lessons on institutional reform in climate and energy policy, this explorative book will also be of interest to practitioners and policy-makers.

Bringing together over fifty leading global experts, this Research Handbook provides a state-of-the-art overview of research findings regarding Human Resource Management (HRM) in the public sector. Original chapters provide useful insights from two different disciplines: public administration and HRM. They illustrate that the public context of organisations matters and discuss research findings detailing how this plays out in practice. Divided into six distinct parts, this Research Handbook covers the key areas of strategic HRM, the HRM cycle, HRM and the outcomes, linking mechanisms in the HRM value chain, as well as HRM and context. Providing crucial information, Part VI examines the main future challenges for HRM in public organisations and provides extensive knowledge across different areas for future research. This engaging Research Handbook will be an excellent resource for scholars in public administration as well as HRM practitioners and scholars with interests in the public contexts and how this affects HRM. It will also provide obligatory reading for advanced students to understand the distinctiveness of HRM in public organisations.

This comprehensive Handbook provides an insight into the main concepts and academic debates on taxation from a political science perspective. Providing a background to current debates on green taxation, taxation and inequality, taxation and gender, tax evasion and avoidance, and tax compliance, it offers potential avenues for future research. The Handbook explores the historical evolution of modern tax systems, contemporary tax politics from a comparative perspective, global tax politics from an international relations perspective, and the formation of tax policy preferences of taxpayers, voters, business associations and parties. Expert contributors analyse the foundations of the field of research and focus on key debates, including the links between colonization and taxation, international cooperation against tax evasion and avoidance, and the taxation of financial transactions. The Handbook on the Politics of Taxation will be a vital resource for academics and students of public finance and public policy. Its exploration of tax compliance and voter preferences will also be beneficial for practitioners and policymakers in these fields.

In recent years, the international engagement of the EU's decentralized agencies has continued to increase in the absence of a clear political and legal framework for their activities. This timely book addresses urgent questions about these agencies' external actions and their effects, how these should be conceptualized and assessed, and how they can and should be governed in the future. Bringing together pioneering interdisciplinary work from European legal and political scholars, this book combines theory with empirical case studies to explore an underdeveloped field and identify a future research agenda. Chapters first comprehensively examine the relevant legal frameworks and the political aspects of these decentralized agencies' external activities, before exploring the questions this raises around their own and the EU's legitimacy and accountability, and the impact of agencies on countries outside the EU who have dealings with them. Scholars in law, political science, economics and public administration will find this book invaluable, particularly those working on external relations, agencification or institutional innovation. It will also prove useful to policymakers at EU and national level, as well as other stakeholders such as non-EU countries and international organizations.

This unique Research Handbook offers an overview of contemporary electronic government and digital public administration and management, encouraging innovative inquiry and exploring new avenues for research in the field. Bringing together international scholars and researchers, the book illustrates the broad and changeable technological context of public organizations, public services and governance from a range of theoretical and methodological perspectives. Chapters investigate key developments in information technology, including social media, big data, cyberinfrastructure and blockchain technologies, and investigate their implications for the traditional goals and values of public administration and management. Examining timely subjects of discussion, including data sharing, public service transactions and trust, citizen engagement and tribal governances, chapters illustrate the global dimensions of technological governance in a variety of settings, including Brazil, Nepal, South Africa, the US, and Small Island Developing States. Representing global scholarship in the field, this Research Handbook is critical reading for scholars and researchers exploring the latest developments in e-governments, as well as graduate students in public management and administration. Public sector managers and policymakers will also benefit from its practical insights into utilizing information tech.