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Local Public Sector Reforms in Times of Crisis

National Trajectories and International Comparisons

Palgrave Macmillan

Part of the book series: Governance and Public Management (GPM)

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Table of contents (20 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxviii
  2. Re-Scaling Local Governance: Amalgamation, Cooperation, Territorial Consolidation

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 21-21
    2. A Comparative Analysis of Amalgamation Reforms in Selected European Countries

      • Reto Steiner, Claire Kaiser, Grétar Thór Eythórsson
      Pages 23-42
    3. What Causes Municipal Amalgamation Reform? Rational Explanations Meet Western European Experiences, 2004–13

      • Jostein Askim, Jan Erling Klausen, Signy Irene Vabo, Karl Bjurstrøm
      Pages 59-79
  3. Managerial Reforms: From Weberian Bureaucracy to Performance Management?

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 99-99
    2. Design, Trajectories of Reform, and Implementation of Performance Budgeting in Local Governments: A Comparative Study of Germany, Italy, Lithuania, and Norway

      • Riccardo Mussari, Alfredo Ettore Tranfaglia, Christoph Reichard, Hilde Bjørnå, Vitalis Nakrošis, Sabina Bankauskaitė-Grigaliūnienė
      Pages 101-119
    3. Impacts of NPM-Driven Performance Management Reforms and Ideologies in Napoleonic Local Governments: A Comparative Analysis of France, Portugal, and Turkey

      • Emil Turc, Marcel Guenoun, Miguel Ângelo V. Rodrigues, Yüksel Demirkaya, Jérôme Dupuis
      Pages 121-137
    4. Do They All Fail?: A Comparative Analysis of Performance-Related Pay Systems in Local Governments

      • Isabella Proeller, Anne-Kathrin Wenzel, Dominik Vogel, Riccardo Mussari, Donatella Casale, Emil Turc et al.
      Pages 139-152
  4. Re-Organizing Local Service Delivery: From Government to Governance?

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 185-185
    2. On the Road Towards Marketization? A Comparative Analysis of Nonprofit Sector Involvement in Social Service Delivery at the Local Level

      • Lars Skov Henriksen, Steven Rathgeb Smith, Malene Thøgersen, Annette Zimmer
      Pages 221-236
    3. The Governance of Childcare in Transition: A Comparative Analysis

      • Nikos Hlepas, Pekka Kettunen, Dagmar Kutsar, Muiris MacCarthaigh, Carmen Navarro, Philipp Richter et al.
      Pages 237-251
  5. Local Participatory Reforms, Political Leaders, and Citizens

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 271-271
    2. Giving Citizens More Say in Local Government: Comparative Analyses of Change Across Europe in Times of Crisis

      • Angelika Vetter, Daniel Klimovský, Bas Denters, Norbert Kersting
      Pages 273-286

About this book

This book compares the trajectories and effects of local public sector reform in Europe and fills a research gap that has existed so far in comparative public administration and local government studies. Based on the results of COST research entitled, ‘Local Public Sector Reforms: an International Comparison’, this volume takes a European-scale approach, examining local government in 28 countries. Local government has been the most seriously affected by the continuously expanding global financial crisis and austerity policies in some countries, and is experiencing a period of increased reform activity as a result. This book considers both those local governments which have adopted or moved away from New Public Management (NPM) modernization to ‘something different’ (what some commentators have labelled ‘post-NPM’), as well as those which have implemented ‘other-than-NPM measures’, such as territorial reforms and democratic innovations. 

Editors and Affiliations

  • Political Science, Administration and Organization, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany

    Sabine Kuhlmann

  • Faculty of Social Sciences, KU Leuven Public Governance Institute, Leuven, Belgium

    Geert Bouckaert

About the editors

Sabine Kuhlmann is Full Professor of Political Science, Administration and Organization at the University of Potsdam, Germany. Since 2011, she has been a member of the National Regulatory Control Council of the German Federal Government and, since 2012, Vice-President of the European Group for Public Administration (EGPA) and Chair of the COST-Action LocRef. 

Geert Bouckaert is Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences and the former Director of the KU Leuven Public Governance Institute, Belgium. He is Coordinator of the Policy Research Centre - Governmental Organization - Decisive Governance and President of the International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS).

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Local Public Sector Reforms in Times of Crisis

  • Book Subtitle: National Trajectories and International Comparisons

  • Editors: Sabine Kuhlmann, Geert Bouckaert

  • Series Title: Governance and Public Management

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52548-2

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan London

  • eBook Packages: Political Science and International Studies, Political Science and International Studies (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2016

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-137-52547-5Published: 05 September 2016

  • eBook ISBN: 978-1-137-52548-2Published: 25 August 2016

  • Series ISSN: 2524-728X

  • Series E-ISSN: 2524-7298

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XXVIII, 366

  • Number of Illustrations: 10 b/w illustrations, 8 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Public Policy, Comparative Politics

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access