Suchergebnisse

The politics of fiscal consolidation in thirteen European countries are statistically analysed. Based on the political economy literature, political factors are identified that explain for the consolidation. Variables are selected representing strength of government and political orientation, and fiscal consolidation is distinguished into spending cuts and cuts in administration. The statistical analysis of political explanations for cutbacks hardly yields significant results and nor does the analysis of fiscal and economic effects of consolidation. The analysis of political effects of consolidation does lead to significant results. Some earlier political economic findings are not supported for our sample of thirteen European countries.

__Abstract__ This article explores the introduction of performance measurement tools in new democracies by presenting a qualitative study based on Estonian governmental documents and performance audits. A set of specific factors help to explain difficulties in introducing performance measurement tools in immature policy environments: instability, poor strategic planning and policy analysis, an implementation gap and uncritical, uninformed transfer of Western performance management initiatives. Although the authors recognize the limits of generalizations based on the Estonian example, the presence of such 'transitional' factors is likely to make the development of performance measurement in new democracies even more complicated than in the West.

Introduction The literature review at hand is the first deliverable of Work Package no. 7 The global financial crisis in the public sector as an emerging coordination challenge of the EU Seventh Framework program project Coordinating for Cohesion in the Public Sector of the Future (COCOPS). The main purpose of the review is to give an overview of the cutback management literature and its findings of cutback strategies in the public sector in the 1970-80s. The aim is to look at the application and impact of various cutback management and decision-making practices and discuss whether lessons could be learnt for the current crisis. The recent global financial and economic crisis, followed by fiscal crisis, have lifted the topic of cutback management back on the research agenda, as many governments in Europe and elsewhere either plan or have already implemented austerity measures in order to cope with the concurrent problems of lower revenues and high public debt. It can be expected that the large-scale cutbacks, undertaken by numerous governments, would lead to changes in public administration practices. Thus, the impacts of the global crisis and the subsequent retrenchment on public administration and governance is and will continue to be a challenging issue for several years to come (Pollitt 2010; Thynne 2011; Coen and Roberts 2012). Looking at the patterns of cutback management during the previous era(s) of austerity can therefore provide useful insights for coping with the current crisis. .