New Public Management (NPM) reforms have been adopted worldwide since the mid-1970s to improve government effectiveness and efficiency. The basic premise of NPM reforms is that market orientation... Show moreNew Public Management (NPM) reforms have been adopted worldwide since the mid-1970s to improve government effectiveness and efficiency. The basic premise of NPM reforms is that market orientation and management focus in the public sector will enhance effectiveness and efficiency of service delivery (Christensen and Lægreid 2010). Although NPM reforms have existed for a quarter century, we still have limited understanding of whether NPM reforms fulfill their expectations. Most importantly, very few empirical studies have been conducted that actually assess the impact of NPM reforms on performance (Alonso, Clifton, and Díaz-Fuentes 2015, Dahlström, Nistotskaya, and Tyrberg 2016, Hammerschmid and Van de Walle 2011). This study helps fill this gap by examining the effect of different NPM-type reforms on municipal performance. In particular, we assess the impact of NPM reforms on three dimensions of municipal performance – gender equity, efficiency and effectiveness – by using a data set of 810 city-level Japanese municipalities. Findings show that municipalities’ overall effort to create NPM reforms is not associated with gender equity and effectiveness in revenue expansion. However, findings suggest that municipalities with a higher commitment to various NPM- type reforms are likely to operate with lower administrative overhead costs. Results also suggest that municipalities’ efforts supporting individual reform, including outsourcing and municipal assets and debt management reform, are associated with higher efficiency in overhead costs and increased revenues from selling municipal assets. This study tests the impacts of NPM-type reforms on municipal performance in an understudied Asian developed setting. Show less
Dimitrova, A.; Toshkov, D.; Mazepus, H.; Maniokas, K.; Boroda, M.; Chulitskaya, T.; ... ; Wolczuk, K. 2018
This paper suggests a new argument to explain gender differences in public management: the “prudent entrepreneur theory.” We hypothesize that male and female public managers have three differences... Show moreThis paper suggests a new argument to explain gender differences in public management: the “prudent entrepreneur theory.” We hypothesize that male and female public managers have three differences in their attitudes towards innovation. Firstly, female managers are more motivated to achieve results – instead of following rules – and to do something useful for society. Secondly, female public managers are open to new ideas and creativity, and more willing to challenge the status quo. Yet, thirdly, female leaders are less eager to take risks when would-be innovations may put their organizations in peril. That is, women in public sector leadership positions are both more entrepreneurial and more prudent. A multilevel analysis – based on the responses by 5,909 senior public managers from 20 countries of the COCOPS Executive Survey on Public Sector Reform and data of national public administrations from the Quality of Government Expert Survey – shows support for these hypotheses. Show less
Mazepus, H.; Toshkov, D.D.; Chulitskaya, T.; Ramasheuskaya, I. 2017
Scientific cooperation between the European Union (EU) and its Eastern neighbours has grown rapidly since the early 2000s. This cooperation holds great promise to influence not only the science and... Show moreScientific cooperation between the European Union (EU) and its Eastern neighbours has grown rapidly since the early 2000s. This cooperation holds great promise to influence not only the science and innovation sectors, but also to affect the practices and values of research communities in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries, their public policies, and societies at large. In this paper we aim to assess the impact of scientific cooperation with the EU with a focus on three countries of the EaP: Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine. Our analysis is divided into two parts: first, we focus on the scientific impact and conduct a bibliometric analysis that tracks several important indicators of the scientific output of Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine for the period of 2000-2016; second, we address the broader impact on the scientific community, institutions, and society by analysing new data from expert interviews. In terms of scientific output we find that while the EU has not radically transformed science in the EaP countries it might have provided it with an essential lifeline of support. We also uncover clear evidence for positive impact of cooperation with the EU on the participating institutions from the EaP countries, but very little evidence (so far) about effects on public policies or significant impact on society at large. Show less
Scientific cooperation is an important part of the European Union (EU)’s policy approach towards the countries in its neighbourhood. This has opened up many opportunities for cooperation in the... Show moreScientific cooperation is an important part of the European Union (EU)’s policy approach towards the countries in its neighbourhood. This has opened up many opportunities for cooperation in the areas of science, technology, research, and innovation between the EU and the Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries. This working paper reviews the institutional and policy parameters of scientific cooperation between the EU and three EaP countries – Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine. It provides an overview of the science policies in these countries, focusing on the lasting impact of their shared communist legacies and post-Soviet transitions, as well as on their current strategies, institutions, and ambitions in the domain of science, research and development policy. The paper also reviews the place of scientific cooperation in the EU’s science and external policies, focusing on relations with the neighbourhood and the EaP countries in particular. We also take stock of the existing programmes for scientific and educational cooperation and academic mobility between the EU and EaP countries. We present an inventory of relevant projects, with a discussion of the progress, level of participation of the research communities in the EaP, and other relevant parameters, such as the distribution of projects and participating institutions across broad scientific fields as well as disciplines. Altogether, we find that Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine have registered a considerable degree of participation in the science and research programmes of the EU, but we also identify a number of barriers and structural impediments to a more successful partnership. Show less
A profound structural change is municipal merger. This come about through absorption of small units or merge of units to create a new entity. Both are intended to improve efficiency by taking... Show moreA profound structural change is municipal merger. This come about through absorption of small units or merge of units to create a new entity. Both are intended to improve efficiency by taking advantage of economies of scale and scope. However, consolidation may temporarily and negatively affect other dimensions of performance. Nevertheless, experienced chief executives should mitigate the transitional challenges. This study tests the moderating effect of chief executive’s public experience on the consolidation-performance relationship. This proposition is tested using data for all the 807 city-level Japanese municipalities for the 2006-2010 period. Two dimensions of performance are studied: efficiency in operational costs, and effectiveness in revenue collection. Findings reveal that merger through municipal absorption increases efficiency in operational costs but reduces revenue expansion. Merger through creation of a new municipality reduces municipal own revenue collection. Chief executive’s past experience neither mitigate nor accelerate the effects of municipal consolidation on performance. Show less
Enlargement is often regarded as an elite-driven process, which does not or not sufficiently include the views of ordinary citizens. At the same time, support for integration has been eroding over... Show moreEnlargement is often regarded as an elite-driven process, which does not or not sufficiently include the views of ordinary citizens. At the same time, support for integration has been eroding over the last decade, contributing to a public-elite gap in preferences towards the process. This paper investigates the relationship between elite and citizens discourses by focusing on Serbia as one of the candidate countries. The case of a candidate country is interesting, as domestic elites need to obtain the support from citizens in making the EU-driven transformations, whereas citizens may be critical to some of the imposed reforms. This may push and pull both groups in the opposite directions, increasing the public-elite gap on European integration. This contribution supplements previous research, which identified discourses among citizens in Serbia, with an analysis of media content. Using vignettes for each discourse found among citizens, the contents of statements in two major Serbian newspapers have been coded. The analysis shows that all four citizen discourses are represented in media. The discourse favoring Serbia’s accession enjoys best representation in the media, reflecting views of Serbia’s political elite. In contrast, the narrative rejecting Serbia’s integration in the EU finds the least space in newspapers, while the remaining two discourses share almost an equal media representation. Most importantly, we find that approximately one fourth of media content does not fit any of the four citizen discourses. This demonstrates not only the size, but also the substance of the public-elite gap on European integration in Serbia. The public-elite gap illustrated here tilts the political debate in Serbia towards one with rather supportive expectations of enlargement and integration. At the same time, we noted that more critical views among citizens are not, or not yet, reflected in the media, while the media is reporting on issues that do not resonate with citizens’ views. A question is whether this is a sustainable route, and whether political ‘entrepreneurs’ will capitalize on these views in order to build alternative political platforms in Serbian politics or influence Serbia’s progress. Show less
