Based on a survey of more than 6,700 top civil servants in 17 European countries, this book explores the impacts of New Public Management (NPM)-style reforms in Europe from a uniquely comparative perspective. It examines and analyses empirical findings regarding the dynamics, major trends and tools of administrative reforms, with special focus on the diversity of top executives' perceptions about the effects of those reforms. Resulting from research funded by the European Commission, this book is an ambitious, comprehensive portrait of public administration in the central European bureaucracies after more than three decades of NPM reforms and in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. The chapters present extensive data on single countries but invaluably take a comparative approach, presenting a broad, explorational perspective.Public Administration Reforms in Europe is an indispensible resource for researchers, practitioners and students in a variety of social science areas, especially public administration, public policy and public management.
Contents:1. Introduction: Public Administration Reforms in EuropeSteven Van de Walle, Gerhard Hammerschmid, Rhys Andrews and Philippe Bezes2. Comparative Research in Public Administration and the Contribution of the COCOPS Top Executive SurveySteven Van de Walle, Gerhard Hammerschmid, Anca Oprisor and Vid Stimac3. Understanding Elites: Values, Attitudes, Motivations and Role Perceptions of Top Public Sector Executives in EuropeTrui Steen and Ulrike WeskePART I PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REFORMS IN CONTINENTAL EUROPE4. Austria: Nothing is Different, but Everything is ChangedStephan Leixnering, Andrea Schikowitz and Renate E. Meyer5. From Smooth Npmization to Structural Changes in France: Accelerated Reforms, Mixed PerceptionsPhilippe Bezes and Gilles Jeannot6. German Public Administration: Incremental Reform and a Difficult Terrain for Management Ideas and InstrumentsGerhard Hammerschmid and Anca Oprisor 7. Administrative Reforms in the Netherlands: Managerialism, Collaboration and Implications for Future Reform CapacitySebastian Jilke, Joris Van Der Voet and Steven Van De WallePART II PUBLIC ADMNISTRATION REFORMS IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE8. Public Administration Reform in Estonia: The Abundance of Piecemeal InitiativesRiin Savi and Tiina Randma-Liiv9. New Wine in New Bottles? Assessing Hungary's Post-2010 Public Administration ReformsGyorgy Hajnal10. The Impact of Public Administration Reforms in Lithuania: Systemic Managerial Changes and Persisting Organizational DifferencesRimantas Rauleckas, Vitalis Nakrosis, Rasa Snapstiene and Ligita SarkutePART III PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REFORMS IN NORTHERN EUROPE11. Denmark: Towards the Neo-Weberian State in the Digital EraCarsten Greve and Niels Ejersbo 12. Finland: Active Reformer Looking for More Centralisation and Horizontal CoordinationTuro Virtanen13. Riding the Roller Coaster: Ireland's Reform of the Public Service at a Time of Fiscal CrisisRichard Boyle14. Norway: Managerialism, Incrementalism and CollaborationPer Laegreid and Lise H. Rykkja15. Reinventing the Old Reform Agenda: Public Administrative Reform and Performance in SwedenHelena Wockelberg and Shirin Ahlback Oberg16. A Top-Down, Customer-Oriented Approach to Reform: Perceptions from UK Civil ServantsJames Downe, Rhys Andrews and Valeria Guarneros-Meza PART IV PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REFORMS IN SOUTHERN EUROPE17. Italy: Set Along a Neo-Weberian Trajectory of Administrative Reform?Edoardo Ongaro, Francesca Ferre, Davide Galli and Francesco Longo18. Public Administration Reforms in Portugal: A Path Between Service Improvement and Cutback MeasuresLuis Mota, Maria Engracia Cardim and Luisa Pereira19. The Slow Pace of Public Administration Reform in SpainJose M. Alonso, Judith Clifton and Daniel Diaz-FuentesPART V CHALLENGES AND OUTCOMES OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REFORMS ACROSS EUROPE20. Mapping the Use of Public Management Tools in European Public AdministrationGilles Jeannot and Philippe Bezes21. Managing the Public Sector Under Fiscal StressTiina Randma-Liiv and Riin Savi22. Coordination Challenges and Administrative Reforms Per Laegreid, Tiina Randma-Liiv, Lise H. Rykkja and Kulli Sarapuu23. Public Administration Reforms and Outcomes Across Countries and Policy AreasKaty Huxley, Rhys Andrews, Gerhard Hammerschmid and Steven Van De Walle24. Conclusion: A Kaleidoscope of Administrative Reforms in EuropeRhys Andrews, Philippe Bezes, Gerhard Hammerschmid and Steven Van De Walle Index
