Sammendrag:

This new text provides an empirical account of the phenomenon known as 'New Public Management' (NPM). Originating in the Anglo-American world, the NPM seems to have swept over various Continental-European countries, producing convergence of administrative reform in various contexts. Specific implementations of NPM, however, show a surprisingly large variety of forms, shapes and results. These include performance indicators, personnel reforms, the creation and management of executive agencies, public private partnerships, benchmarking and evaluations of the reforms themselves.
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This volume demonstrates how NPM, being a highly ambiguous concept, is crafted and shaped differently in various institutional contexts. It analyses the application of NPM (and ways in which NPM reforms are interpreted and implemented) in a variety of administrative regimes throughout Europe. It is therefore a must-read for students, scholars and practioners who are studying and reflecting on the actual implementation of reform.