The public sector continues to play a strategic role across the world. The last thirty years have seen major shifts in approaches to public sector management in many countries. There is also a fierce debate across academic disciplines about contemporary public administration/management: some advocate the use of more managerialist approaches; while others see managerialism as undermining democratic institutions. New roles have arisen, such as programme evaluation, management consulting, and reliance on NGOs and partnerships, which require new assessments. There is an intensified need for an analysis of contemporary public sector organisations, which are changing rapidly before our eyes. It is thus time for an authoritative treatment of the major trends in public management, embracing both their intended and unintended consequences. This Handbook brings together leading international scholars to comment on key current issues. The individual chapters include broad overviews, in depth explorations of particular thematic areas, and analyses of different theoretical perspectives such as political science, management, sociology, and economics. The authors have space to develop their distinctive arguments. The editors provide an overall concluding chapter. The Handbook combines scholarly rigour, engaging writing and high policy relevance. It will be invaluable to advanced students, researchers and reflective public sector practitioners.

Table of Contents:
Ewan Ferlie, Laurence E. Lynn Jr., and Christopher Pollitt: Introductory Remarks Section I: Basic Frameworks 1: Christopher Hood: Public Management: The Word, The Movement, The Science 2: Laurence E. Lynn Jr.: Public Management: A Concise History of the Field 3: Kenneth J. Meier: Bureaucracy in the 21st Century 4: Hal G. Rainey and Young Han Chun: Public and Private Management Compared 5: Linda deLeon: Public Management, Democracy, and Politics Section II: Theoretical and Disciplinary Perspectives 6: Anthony Bertelli: Law and Public Administration 7: J. Patrick Dobel: Public Management as Ethics 8: Mark Bovens: Public Accountability 9: Aidan R. Vining and David L. Weimer: Economic Perspectives on Public Organizations 10: Peter Bogason: Postmodern Public Administration 11: Erik-Hans Klijn: Networks and Interorganizational Management: Challenging, Steering, Evaluation, and the Role of Public Actors in Public Management 12: H. George Frederickson: Whatever Happened to Public Administration? Governance, Governance Everywhere? 13: Helen Margetts: Virtual Organizations 14: Michael Power: The Audit Explosion Section III: Exploring Current Public Policy and Management Themes 15: Chris Skelcher: Public-Private Partnerships and Hybridity 16: Christopher Pollitt: Decentralization: A Central Concept in Contemporary Public Management 17: Ignace Snellen: E-Government: A Challenge for Public Management 18: Ewan Ferlie and Keith J. Geraghty: Professionals in Public Services Organizations: Implications for Public Sector 'Reforming' 19: Jean-Louis Denis, Ann Langley, and Linda Rouleau: Rethinking Leadership in Public Organizations 20: Robert Dingwall and Tim Strangleman: Organizational Cultures in the Public Services 21: Colin Talbot: Performance Section IV: Functional Areas 22: Patricia W. Ingraham: Striving for Balance: Reforms in Human Resource Management 23: John Øvretveit: Public Service Quality 24: Irene Rubin and Joanne Kelly: Budget amd Accounting Reforms 25: Steven Rathgeb Smith: NGOs and Contracting 26: Peter Dahler-Larsen: Evaluation and Public Management Section V: National and International Comparisons 27: David Mathiasen: International Public Management 28: Denis Saint Martin: Management Consultancy 29: Isabella Proeller and Kuno Schedler: Change and Continuity in the Continental Tradition of Public Management Ewan Ferlie, Laurence E. Lynn Jr., and Christopher Pollitt: Afterword