Abstract
Christopher Pollitt and Geert Bouckaert (2011) Public Management Reform: A Comparative Analysis – New Public Management, Governance, and the Neo–Weberian State. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Third Edition, 352 pp., ISBN: 978-0-19-926849-8 (pbk)
Academic disciplines require a point of reference, a major work that establishes their most salient points and that provide important insights and set the stage for future work. Studies of comparative public management in its various forms are blessed. Christopher Pollitt and Geert Bouckaert have produced a seminal contribution to the discipline. Students and practitioners of public management wishing to gain a thorough understanding of public sector management reform efforts, the theories that underpin them, as well as their strengths and weaknesses, need to look no further than to Public Management Reform: A Comparative Analysis – New Public Management, Governance, and the Neo-Weberian State, third edition.
Readers familiar with the book’s first and second editions already have an appreciation of the book’s contribution to the discipline. A major effort was made in preparing the third edition – it not only provides up-to-date material and references, but also offers fresh insights into both the strengths and weaknesses of more recent public sector management reform measures.
The book has eight chapters, two appendices, a bibliography and an index. The appendices are valuable contributions in their own right. One provides a socio-economic overview of the experiences of the 12 countries surveyed in the book. It looks to key indicators from GDP growth, government spending as a percentage of GDP, income inequity and so on. The second appendix will be of interest to students of government as an easily accessible reference describing the political-administrative institutions of the 12 countries. It also looks at broad policy initiatives, measures to reform management, the implementation process and a brief commentary on the success or lack of success of the efforts.
The book’s first chapter sets the scene, outlining the reasons for the rise of New Public Management (NPM) and other reform measures and the extent to which the measures have gone global. It also seeks to answer some fundamental questions – how have the rise of networking and the focus on ‘governance’ inspired more recent management reform attempts? It assesses the impact of the 2008 global financial crisis on the public management reform agenda.
The second chapter seeks to answer a key question – why has the public management reform agenda been so widely embraced? Pollitt and Bouckaert go to the heart of the matter when they write that it is ‘no longer possible for a government to sustain for very long a level of public spending that global markets deem to be imprudent’ (p. 35). The capacity of national governments to tax is not what it once was, hence the search for more efficiency in government operations. This may well explain why the bulk of the management reform initiatives has been and continues to be a top-down rather than a bottom-up process.
Chapter three makes the point that it is not possible to review public management reform without taking into account a country’s political-administrative institutional arrangements. The authors consider how the 12 countries differ and how the differences can influence the choice and implementation of management reform measures. Chapter four explores ‘trajectories’ in reviewing management reform themes, notably financial and human resources management.
Chapter five explores the performance of government from an international perspective. The challenge, of course, is what to measure and how. Pollitt and Bouckaert explore the full gamut of measurements, ways to assess improvements and determine success. They also identify the many pitfalls when assessing performance in government.
The last three chapters deal with what students of government and practitioners understand all too well but others less so. How to square public management reform with politics and how to establish a proper working relationship between politicians and public servants? The chapters not only provide an excellent overview of the literature, but also offer fresh thinking on the impact management reform efforts have had on the traditional politician-civil servant bargain. Here, the authors could have extended their reach somewhat to review how the role of the politicians has changed in recent years in shaping public policy due, at least in part, to management reform efforts.
The same can be said about the role of the media and the impact they have had on management reform. The chapters do explore the relationships between citizens and government, between civil servants and taxpayers, and how accountability has evolved. However, they have little to say about the 24-hour television news and the rise of the social media and their impact on government operations.
The concluding chapter – Reflections – is the strongest of the eight chapters. It neatly ties together the book’s findings, revisits the three models – New Public Management, Neo-Weberian State and New Public Governance – and offers insights on possible future research efforts.
The book has a number of strengths. It is very well written and accessible to a wide audience. It skilfully weaves a comparative viewpoint throughout and looks at public sector management from a broad all-encompassing perspective. The book’s third edition will likely have a greater impact and a wider readership than the first two because its publication comes at a critical time. Both students and practitioners will find important lessons learned for the public sector as governments everywhere seek a more solid footing to deal with today’s turbulent socio-economic circumstances.
Public Management Reforms stands out from its peers as a remarkably impartial look at how twelve governments have sought to reform their operations. The book will stand the test of time and take its place among the classics in public administration.
Donald J. Savoie
Senior Canada Research Chair in Public Administration and Governance, Université de Moncton
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