Accountability in the Netherlands: Exemplary in its Complexity

In: Public administration quarterly, Band 31, Heft 4, S. 480-507

Abstract

This article addresses the accountability practices in the Netherlands. It is argued that during the past few decades, nearly all constituting elements of classic accountability have been abandoned. The new practices involve audits, monitoring, performance measurement, evaluation, etc. It is argued that these practices have some serious side-effects, namely that accountability procedures have deteriorated in standard operations, resulting in an increase of administrative cost, insignificance, biased accounts, and ambiguous responsibility. The article concludes by a plea to reconsider the merits of modern managerial accountability.