This collection provides a comprehensive, state-of-the art review of current research in the field of New Public Management (NPM) reform. Aimed primarily at a readership with a special interest in contemporary public-sector reforms, The Ashgate Research Companion to New Public Management offers a refreshing and up-to-date analysis of key issues of modern administrative reforms.

This volume comprises a general introduction and twenty-nine chapters divided into six thematic sessions, each with chapters ranging across a variety of crucial topics in the field of New Public Management reforms and beyond.

The principal themes to be addressed are:

• Part 1 focuses on the processes and driving forces examining the 'why' question. Basic theoretical foundations are discussed as well as considering the importance of institutional environments, copying, diffusion and translation of reform ideas and solutions among countries

• Part 2 examines the question of convergence or divergence among countries. Four families of countries with different state traditions are examined: Anglo-Saxon countries, Continental Europe, Asian countries and Scandinavia.

• Part 3 addresses developments in specific sectors and policy areas such as the 'soft' welfare sector where reforms have taken place in the hospital system, universities and the welfare administration, and the 'harder' sectors like the regulation of utilities in areas such as telecommunications and energy.

• Part 4 focuses on specific features and components of NPM including structural devolution, autonomy, performance management, competition and privatization and public-private partnerships.

• Part 5 raises the important question of the effects and implications of NPM reforms. This section analyzes both the more direct and the narrower effects on efficiency and the broader impact on democracy, trust and public sector values.

• Part 6 goes beyond the NPM movement and asks what new trends are occurring. Questions are examined by focusing on whole-of-government initiatives, Neo-Weberian models and new public governance as a new trend.

Covering not only the NPM movement in general but also the driving forces behind the reform and its various trajectories and special features, this important contribution is essential reading for students and anyone wanting to expand their knowledge of administrative reform.

Contents: Preface; Introduction, Tom Christensen and Per Lægreid; Part I NPM Processes: Driving Forces: Basic NPM ideas and their development, Jonathan Boston; The political-administrative design of NPM, Peter Aucoin; The relevance of culture for NPM, Koen Verhoest; New public organisations: a revivalist movement, Nils Brunsson. Part II Convergence and Divergence Among Countries: NPM in Anglo-Saxon countries, John Halligan; Public management reform in Continental Europe: national distinctiveness, Walter J.M. Kickert; NPM in Scandinavia, Hanne Foss Hansen; NPM in Asian countries, Anthony B.L. Cheung. Part III Sector Studies: Healthcare states and medical professions: the challenges from NPM, Haldor Byrkjeflot; NPM, network governance and the university as a changing professional organization, Ivar Bleiklie, Jürgen Enders, Benedetto Lepori and Christine Musselin; NPM ideas and social welfare administration, Richard Norman; Utility regulation and NPM, Ian Bartle. Part IV NPM Features: Structural devolution to agencies, Oliver James and Sandra van Thiel; Managing performance and auditing performance, Vital Put and Geert Bouckaert; Managerialism and models of management, Martin Painter; Privatization, Thomas Pallesen; A transformative perspective on public-private partnerships, Carsten Greve and Graeme Hodge. Part V Effects and Implication of NPM: NPM and the search for efficiency, Rhys Andrews; Unions, corporatist participation and NPM, Paul G. Roness; NPM: restoring the public trust through creating distrust?, Steven Van de Walle; Scientization, Martin Marcussen; An aftermath of NPM: regained relevance of public values and public service motivation, Torben Beck Jørgensen and Lotte Bøgh Andersen; Serving the public? Users, consumers and the limits of NPM, Janet Newman; Responses to NPM: from input to democracy to output democracy, B. Guy Peters; Normativity and NPM: a need for some theoretical coherence, Robert Gregory. Part VI NPM and Beyond: Beyond NPM? Some development features, Tom Christensen and Per Lægreid; Reinventing Weber: the role of institutions in creating social trust, Jon Pierre and Bo Rothstein; Public governance and public services: a 'brave new world' or new wine in old bottles?, Stephen P. Osborne; References; Index.

About the Editor: Professor Tom Christensen, University of Oslo, Norway and Professor Per Lægreid, University of Bergen, Norway

Reviews: 'The Companion provides the first comprehensive overview of the most important changes in democratic administrative reform in the post-War era. This will equip scholars, students and policy makers with a solid foundation on which to build assessments of the new approaches to performance management, accountability and flexibility. Well written and presented, the chapters combine sound theoretical insight with useful overviews of national systems. Whether one is an ardent supporter or determined critic of these reforms, the Companion will serve as a starting point for analysis and assessment.'
Mark Considine, University of Melbourne, Australia

'New Public Management has swept much of the world in the past 20-30 years, a reform movement fed by its adoption by major governments and its promotion by many international agencies. Much has been written about it, puzzling over its origins, the reasons for its appeal and its consequences. This excellent volume presents a comprehensive, systematic and provocative review of how this happened, what it means, and what its effects have been. A must collection for anyone interested in contemporary administrative reform.'
Joel D. Aberbach, Center for American Politics and Public Policy, UCLA, USA

'If you want to understand how and why the public sector has changed in the last twenty years, and how and why it has resisted or translated change, this is the definitive account to read. The leading international researches in the field do not only tell what happened, but offer realistic and compelling theoretical explanations.'
Werner Jann, University of Potsdam, Germany

'What exactly has been discovered about the much debated phenomenon of "New Public Management" (NPM), after nearly 20 years of research? If anything can tell us that, it should be this weighty book, written by nearly 40 academics who have debated the issues in international forums for 15 years or so... the book will be an essential source of reference because most of the world's major scholars in the field appear in it, the references alone run to some 63 pages, and it includes thoughtful and authoritative essays on most of the topics that have been discussed on the NPM conference circuit over the past two decades. ... This collection is definitely an important milestone in NPM research...'
Governance

This title is also available as an ebook, ISBN 978-0-7546-9570-7

Tom Christensen has a profile page on the University of Oslo website.

Visit Per Lægreid's profile page on the Uni Rokkan Centre, University of Bergen website.

Extracts from this title are available to view:

Full contents list

Introduction

Index