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The implementation of the New Public Management (NPM) model by the UK & New Zealand is critically analyzed to reveal the merits & demerits of this public management reform. From the 1980s, both countries have moved toward privatization, changed the management of public expenditure, & restructured their central bureaucracies in the attempt to efficiently deliver quality public services at reduced cost. The UK, the most committed advocate of NPM, has nevertheless approached reform without a formal strategy or document, while New Zealand has approached NPM with a systematic blueprint & a more radical concept. The experiences of both France & the People's Republic of China illustrate the difficulties of developed & transitional economies in transferring the model across cultural boundaries & confirm that local political cultures are the determiners of such policy transfer outcomes. The UK experiment has received much criticism, & the author questions the validity of considering NPM a successful model. The World Bank & other donor organizations have encouraged developing countries to adopt NPM without regard for the critical literature or adverse results. 9 Tables, 81 References. L. A. Hoffman

"The present volume combines current approaches in the American social sciences with European traditions of thought in order to assess the impact of the still ongoing differentiation of government and its growing interdependence with nongovernmental public and private bodies. It develops conceptual frameworks which help to understand the structured complexity of relationships within the public sector as a device to redefine situations for the actors concerned. The interdisciplinary framework gives greater insight into the conditions of functioning in the public sector than traditional theories in various disciplines. By analyzing characteristic patterns of coordination as institutional arrangements, a way has been opened to the search for institutional design. Taking into account the constraints of rational decision making, standards for institutional design should give more prominence to the possibilities of feedback and learning, i.e., to the social process of evaluation rather than the rational processes of calculation." (author's abstract)

Examines the impact of social movement organizations (SMOs) & interest groups on public policy, arguing that their influence is constrained by electoral competition & limits on the ability of citizens/legislators to address multiple issues at the same time. Legislators pay attention to the wishes of the majority of their constituents, & SMOs cannot have a direct impact on policy if they are in conflict with the majority over issues the public cares about. However, SMOs can directly influence policy on issues the public is not particularly interested in, & indirectly influence policy by relating information to elected officials & administrative agencies, as well as by working to change the public's policy preferences or the intensity of their concerns. An examination of the activities of SMOs & interest groups in the context of theories of democracy leads to the conclusion that there is no theoretical justification for distinguishing between them; hence, their abilities to impact public policy are roughly the same. J. Lindroth

The status of contemporary studies of multi-level governance, especially within the European Union, is explored. Overviews of the circumstances that made multi-level governance an integral component of the European Union's political systems during the late 1980s & of Gary Marks' (1992; 1993) seminal explorations of the notion of multi-level governance are provided. Seven issues concerning multi-level governance that European Union studies should address are highlighted including the need to establish a consensual definition of multi-level governance, the issue of whether multi-level governance encourages hierarchy within states, & the influence of multi-level governance upon states' democratic accountability. Several articles that investigate these issues are introduced. J. W. Parker

The author considers the rationale for public consultation -- identifying some of its innovative devices as well as some of its problems -- & its impact on policy making, arguing that this particular approach moves away from elitism. The paper also addresses the impact of public opinion polling in public policy & explores factors that influence the values & opinions held by the public. References. D. Miller

This edited collection of essays studies the national experiences of six Western European countries through a number of concrete types of challenges to governance -- ie, the steel industry, health care, finance, & HIV & blood supply -- to determine why some public management policies succeed & others fail. The volume also aims to examine several key issues of public governance, eg, (1) the degree of legitimacy in governance within Western Europe in light of higher expectations from citizens & greater media criticism & (2) success & failure in governance. It also provides a comparative analysis of empirical research of the current beliefs that due to market globalization, individualization, informationization, & Europeanization, governments have lost their ability to govern autonomously. An understanding of the similarities & differences in the natures & results of policy measures to similar problems across countries allows a more systematic study of national policy styles, the influence of EU policy making, & the possibilities of uniting policy styles. L. A. Hoffman

The author explains why & how recent criticism of public education & efforts to marginalize or destroy it are related to assaults on both counter-public spheres & the politics of culture. The campaign against public education endangers the concept of the public sphere as a place for debating important issues as part of the learning process & the role of educators as public intellectuals. Paul Freire's work offers a fervent defense of popular culture as a starting point for developing vocabularies & literacies that enable students & others to negotiate the public sphere. Because Freire does not divorce his methods from his larger vision of freedom & emphasizes the need for an international sense of responsibility, he offers a language of critique & potential that revitalizes the meaning of being a public intellectual constituted across multiple borders. 47 References. A. Funderburg

Introduces an edited collection of papers concerning the impact of New Public Management (NPM) reforms on the government systems of developing countries. NPM reforms, with their emphasis on entrepreneurial dynamics, reinstatement of market forces for providing public services, & transformation of managerial behavior, are being internationalized to countries with developing or changing economies. The methods of transferring the NPM reform model, its total acceptance or adaptation to local conditions, & the end results are part of the public management debate. The introduction contains a brief synopsis of the work of each contributor; many were advisers to the Presidential Commission on the Transformation of the Public Service in South Africa in 1998. Issues include privatization & regulation, civil service reform, decentralization, contracting & market mechanisms, improved services delivery, human resources management, & information technology. 34 References. L. A. Hoffman

The authors contend that public intervention is the key to fulfillment of digital democracy's promise. Basic components of liberal & digital democracy are described. An argument for governmental empowerment of digital information dissemination cites economic, contextual, marketing, & subjectivity issues. Policy considerations such as privacy protection & access to infrastructure, public information, & services are listed. Details of the cultural, educational, & sexual composition of Internet users are included. There is examination of international gaps in technological access & changes in information-access policies. Exemplification of ways in which public actions may promote digital democracy includes specific methods for providing information & elucidation of laws concerning public access to data. Also considered are pivotal actions in the liberalization & sponsorship of telecommunications, including such US policies as the Electronic Freedom of Information Act & the High Performance Computer Act. Government roles in promoting public awareness & enthusiasm for computer use, system design promotion, & organization are assessed. 1 Table, 21 References. M. C. Leary

The effects of political corruption on a nation's administrative efficiency & economic development are explored. Multiple arguments that perceive political corruption as accelerating political & economic processes are critiqued. It is contended that the centralization of political corruption produces fewer negative consequences than noncentralized bribery; & bribes are generally larger in autocratic governments than in democratic ones. How political corruption can stunt economic development is identified, eg, an official's decision to require bribes before granting investment licenses actually reduces individuals' incentives to invest. Literature is also reviewed to determine factors that contribute to varying rates of incidence of political corruption in different nations, eg, the probability that one official will expose another official's acceptance of bribes. 34 References. J. W. Parker