State Management

Description:
'State Management' offers a comprehensive yet concise introduction to the new field of state management, presenting an analysis of basic questions within the theories of bureaucracy, policy-making, principal-agent modelling and policy networks. Focussing upon recent state transformation, it illuminates public sector reform strategies such as New Public Management as well as incorporation, tendering and bidding, decentralization, team production and privatization. This book argues that we should look upon the variety of models or approaches to public management or public administration as all belonging under 'state management'.The so-called 'working state' in a well-ordered society involves government delivering services, paying for social security and respecting the rule of law. In this text, Jan-Erik Lane systematically examines the key approaches to the study of how government attempts to achieve these goals, discussing the pros and cons of alternative frameworks of analysis. Each chapter discusses a different issue within state management that is integral to the broader debate, including: public regulation; the relationship between the law and the state; combining ecology and policy making; multi-level governance; the virtues and vices of public-private partnerships; and, policy implementation. Presenting a clear overview of how the state operates when government sets out to deliver public services, and generating questions to encourage new research, 'State Management' is a valuable new text for both undergraduate and postgraduate courses in political science, public administration and public management.

Review:
'Jan-Erik Lane has once again produced a timely and provocative book - this time upon the distinctive challenges of public management in the twenty first century. it is sure to become a classic text for researchers and students in the field alike.' Stephen P Osborne, Professor of International Public Management, University of Edinburgh Business School, Scotland 'Jan-Erik Lane has yet again produced a fresh lens for viewing the public sector and how it operates. State management focuses on theories and models of public management and administration that provide distinctive means for delivering public services. He works systematically through the gamut of design options and issues in short, crisp chapters organized around a lucid and logical presentation of ideas. The book is strongly recommended for its ability to engage students and scholars of public management and administration' John Halligan, Professor, School of Business and Government, University of Canberra, Australia 'A pioneer in the contemporary study of public management shows that state management is distinctly different from 'running government like a business'. Lane points out the consequences for theory and research. He demonstrates the contemporary relevance of classical core questions of public administration by treating contemporary management of the public sector from his profound knowledge and broad overview of the field: from bureaucracy theory to the importance of multilevel governance, sustainability policy and the rule of law in modern public management. The result is an inspiring achievement. The book provides a great stepping stone for faculty and students to address the many wicked issues the management of contemporary government - in its many component parts - is facing from a theoretically grounded and research perspective.' Theo Toonen, Dean, Faculty of Technology, Policy, Management, Delft University of Technology and Professor of Institutional Public Administration, Delft and Leiden University

Table of Contents:
Introduction: Is Public Management Different From Private Sector Management? 1. Formal Organisation Models: The Relevance Of Informal Organisation 2. Asymmetric Information Models: The Principal-Agent Perspective 3. Policy Models: How Rational Is Public Management? 4. Implementation Models: Bringing Outcomes Into Public Management And Policy. 5. Independent Agencies: Maximising Efficiency? 6. Policy Network Models: The Virtues And Vices Of Public-Private Partnerships 7. Marketization Models. How Much Buying And Selling In Government? 8. Incorporation As a Strategy: Transforming The Public Enterprises 9. Principals And Agents: Public Regulation 10. Multi-Level Governance: Bringing In The Two Regional Dimensions 11. Politics And Jurisprudence: Law And The State 12. Ecology And Policy: How To Combine? 13. The Developmental State: From The Third World To The First World 14. The Comparative Challenge: Are There Different State Models? Conclusion: Public Management As The Encompassing Framework For State Management

Author Biography:
Mercator Visiting Professor, University of Heidelberg