Evaluating Public Management Reforms: Principles and Practice

by Catherine Farrell, Jennifer Law, Pat A. Cryer

Governments across the world are pursuing reform in an effort to improve public services. But have these reforms actually led to improvements in services? Evaluating Public Management Reforms develops a framework for a theory-based evaluation of reforms, and then uses this framework to assess the impact of new arrangements for public service delivery in the UK. This

* identifies the conceptual and practical problems of finding clear criteria for evaluating reforms

* focuses on the shifts in public management towards markets and competition, towards the publication of performance indicators, and from larger to smaller organizations

* considers what impact these reforms have had on the efficiency, responsiveness and equity of services

* comprehensively reviews the evidence on the effects of reform on health care, housing and education

* discusses the implications for public sector management.

177 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003