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Comparative Public Administration and Management > Chapter 2 > Flashcards

Chapter 2 Flashcards

1
Q

What are administration reforms and institutional policies?

A

They consist of specific goals, objects and subjects of interventions, measures and activities and results and effects. They are administrative reform in and of the public sector with aim to optimise functioning and machinery public sector, government en democracy. The administrative reforms can exhibit different forms and goals. The proces can consist of
talk > decision(action program) > action (actual changes). People are more interested in tangible policies.

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2
Q

What are assumptions politicians make when it comes to administrative reform?

A
  1. Regionalisation is more democratic (Puigdemont)
  2. Privatisation leads to more effect service delivery (Thatcher)
  3. Citizen participation guarantees more transparant policies (Verlinden)
  4. Scaled up local government has more governing power (Somers)
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3
Q

5 Forces that drive or resist change?

A
  1. Elites
  2. Socio-economic forces
  3. Political systems
  4. Events
  5. Administration systems
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4
Q

What does elites have to do with reforms?

A

Elites decide what is desirable and feasible. Its topdown thing. Reforms invented in mind of elites

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5
Q

What does socio- economic forces have to do with reforms?

A

They have an impact on decisions that are made

  1. Global economic forces: international trade, competition, globalisation. They are means in which nations governments lose control over their policies. Pressure is spending and lighting bureaucracy. Countries in competition to be rated trustworthy, so people will invest in their country and are reforming public sector
  2. Socio demographic change: changes in peoples life patterns leads to an increased demand on state service. Pressure to reform is demanding more efficiency and reducing overhead. Also population is growing older so more pressure to take care of them, think about welfare, so they need to spend more
  3. Socio economic policies change: raising minimum pension age, unemployment benefit reduced in time. Because of these factors we are having real change
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6
Q

What does political system have to do with reforms?

A
  1. Structural elements: making reform more or les straightforward. Constitutions, political system and nature executive dont pressure to change things but determine the way you can do things
  2. Dynamic elements:
    - new managements ideas: OECD consultants push need to be efficient and effective
    - pressure from citizens: desire for well functioning administration
    - political drivers for elites to make changes in public sector
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7
Q

What does events have to do with reforms?

A

Things such us

  • Explosions
  • Dutroux
  • Fukushima
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8
Q

What does administrative system have to do with reforms?

A

They are often difficult to reform (such as law, rules, centralisation, finding common ground).

Structural elements:

  • administrative cultures
  • administrative structures
  • rules and regulations

Dynamics of systems:

  • content of reform: interaction between desirable and feasible
  • first announcement, then chain of implementation in machinery starts. Results of reform to gain support form people
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9
Q

What are the differences in reform or change?

A
  1. Decentralised and federal states: reforms less broad in scope and less uniform in practice
  2. Unitary and majoritarian states: deep structural reforms are easier
  3. Integrated civil service: larger ownership of reforms
  4. Political bonds with civil service: similar influence on reforms
  5. Administrative culture
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10
Q

What is rational choice institutionalism?

A

Utility maximising actors take the action/decision and restrained by bounded rationality. Homo economicus maximise own benefit. Institutions are seen has limitations of rational choices

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11
Q

Wat is sociological institutionalism?

A

Actors act/decide based on cultures norms, rules and cognitive scripts that are in mind of the actor. Homo sociologicus acts based on how they are suppose to behave. Institutions are cultural phenomena that provide cognitive scripts and normative grades. They define appropriate behaviour. Serve as justification of political institutions that enable its legitimacy

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12
Q

What is historical institutionalism?

A

Existing structures and past deciosls and actions lead to persistent. Path depend institutions. Making decions based on what we are used to do. Deciosn must be looked at in light of longterm institutional developments of the political administrative system. Institutional development is shaped by historical path dependency

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13
Q

What is the convergence-hypothesis?

A

That decisions will be the same. Assumption that forces of globalisation and internationalisation will reach high degree of external determinism. National structures will tend to institutional and normative alignment

  • rational choice institutionalism: congruent decision making by utility maximising leaders in face of external challenges
  • social institutionalism: isomorphism (power of ideas)
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14
Q

What is divergence-hypothesis?

A

Decisions will be different. Linked to historical institutionalism. Determining effect of existing national administrative and political structures, cultures and institutional factors > path dependence. its de-coupling drom sociological institutionalism

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15
Q

What is the differentiated analysis of convergence?

A

Pollitt (2011)

Requires closer look at different phases of reform processes in individual countries. By using differentiation according to four level phases

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16
Q

What are the types of administrative reforms?

A
  1. External reforms:
    - vertical intergovernmental: transfer of powers from higher level to a lower level
    - horizontal intergovernmental: redefining coordination and cooperation rules between different territorial bodies of a particular level
    - intersectional: privatisation, relationship between sectors in particular the public, private and non-profit sector . decentralization (horizontal)
  2. Internal reforms: focus on changes within organisation and between internal administrative units and decision making rules. Looks inward. 3 areas of change:
    - structure and organization
    - process and steering instruments
    - HRM and leadership
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17
Q

What do intergovernmental external administration reforms have in common?

A

They are about transferring power from higher levels to lower levels. So shifting responsibilities between governmental levels.

  1. Federalization: state reform process, powers transferred to lower levels. Autonomous, legislative and executive competencies
  2. Regionalisation: transferring powers from central to mess-level, however policy power is not transferred
  3. Administrative decentralization: tasks performed by single-function, special purpose units are transferred into local self-government based on multifunctional principle > strengthens territorial organization
  4. Administrative deconcentration: deconcentratie administrative units and tasks remain under political control and responsibility state. its relies on principal of monofucntionality (single purpose model)
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18
Q

What are the differences between federalisation and regionalisation?

A

Federalisation: transfer power to autonomous lower meso-level. Recipient levels have democratically elected representatives that have legislative and policymaking powers
Regionalisation: transfer powers to lower meso-levels vwithtouth giving existing regions own legislative and policy making powers

Formation of new regions, so bottom-up

  • hard: new territorial bodies while abolishing related previous structures
  • soft: status of new bodies only functional cooperative form in integrated areas. Formation new regions is bottom up. Local communities are fused to new regions
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19
Q

What are examples of countries with federalising tendencies?

A

These countries share tradition of unitary centralised state model (Napoleonic countries)

  • Spain: state of autonomous regions now but used to be very unitarian
  • Belgium: used to be unitary but is federal state
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20
Q

What can we say about the UK devolution of powers?

A
  1. Scotland Northern-ireland and Wales; autonomy in 1990. They have delegated powers, higher level decides what lower level does (Ultra Vires).
  2. Asymmetric devolution: differences in powers in regions. Scotland more general competences and Northern-Ireland and Wales have regional parliament that make decisions on strictly defined issues
  3. Engeland has no devolution. So no own parliament and fall under UK governance > people wish to make decisions that apply only to Engeland
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21
Q

What is devolution of powers?

A
  • Statutory delegation of power from central government of sovereign state to governments at subnational leven
  • Form of administrative decentralization
  • Devolved territories power to make legislation relevant to area. So granting them higher level autonomy
  • Devolved power can be temporary and reversible
  • Legislation establishing parliaments can be repealed or amended by central government
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22
Q

What can we say about France simple regionalisation?

A
  1. History of unitary Napoleonic state
  2. 1982 regionalisation: establishing 13 regions that are hierarchically equal to departments and communes
  3. Have general competences > they can do whatever they want
  4. Competition between governmental level, about who does what about certain issues
  5. Compex because competences intertwined and not a lot of civil servants
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23
Q

What can we say about Germany federal state?

A
  1. Historically decentralised state with federal tradition

2. Landers (meso-level) very autonomous and decided on own administrative structures

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24
Q

What is soft and hard regionalisation?

A
  1. Soft: efficiency and simplification of state structure. Bottom-up regional structures with elected body to decide on issues
  2. Hard: old countries replaced by larger regional structures with local self-government > bottom up
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25
Q

What is decentralisation?

A

Transfer of responsibilities to local self-government level > municipalisation: upper local government (provinces) and self-government (muncipalities). It can be divided in monistic and dualistic.

  • Political: legislative and policymaking powers (real)
  • Administrative: delegation of state tasks carried out by local government (false).
26
Q

What is deconcentration?

A

Administrative concept: state tasks are performed by state offices that are located at local level. F.e. getting passport at local communities

27
Q

What is monistic decentralization?

A

All functions that are assigned to the municipalities are real local government tasks for which the elected local council is responsible > genuine municipalisation or political decentralization

28
Q

What is dualistic decentralization?

A

Municipalities have two type of tasks:

  • real governmental local self-government functions, derived from traditional general competence clause > genuine municipalisation or political decentralization
  • false local government tasks, carrying out assigned state functions by local government executive, council has no responsibility > pseudo-muncipalization or administrative decentralization
29
Q

What can we say about France political decentralization and administrative dualism?

A
  1. History of centralisation with tasks carried out by state administration via departments
  2. 1980 transferred state task to local self-government (real municipalisation)
  3. Dualistic model remains and deconcentration important feature
  4. Not separation of levels but interweaving different levels and competences remains
30
Q

What can we say about Germany fake municipalisation?

A

Variation between different Länder but in most case there is a typical delegation (fake municipalisation)

31
Q

What can we say about UK recentralisation?

A
  1. Historically monistic task model > political decentralization of real tasks
  2. 1980 more interference central government, because weakening of functionally strong local government
  3. Re-transferring tasks into state owned agencies (quango’s)
  4. Distrust of conservatives in labor dominated local governments
  5. Replace general power of competence to localism act. It changes power of local government. To facilitate devolution of decision making powers from central government to individuals and communities
  6. Devolution and decentralising towards a model of strong functional local government, with different tasks (monistic/dual) and type of decentralization (real/false)
32
Q

What can we say about convergence?

A

Convergence in the direction of transfer of functions and responsibilities to lower levels of the politico-administration system

  • dencetralization/regionalization towards meso level
  • stronger local self government functionally and politically
33
Q

What are diverging cases towards the general trend?

A
  1. UK: strong disempowerment of local government
  2. France: simple regionalisation instead of federalisation
    • no fully fledged norm-setting powers devolved
  3. Germany: fals municipalisation and retaining of traditional dual task mode
34
Q

What does sociological institutionalism say about convergence?

A

Actors decide based on cultures, norms rules and cognitive scripts. Institutional imitation leads to convergence. Countries copy reforms from other countries because:

  1. Successful or influential elsewhere
  2. Not copying would be inappropriate (logic of appropriateness)
  3. Coercion: being forced to do it. EU policy often prompts decentralised regional institutions
35
Q

What does rational choice institutionalism say about convergence?

A

Decision maker is a utility maximising actor, restrained aby bounded rationality to take the action/decision. National actors react to similar challenges with similar institutional strategies > convergence

36
Q

What does rational choice institutionalism say about divergence?

A

Its determined by

  1. Actor constellations: strong plea for political self-determination which make it rational to decentralise power (Flanders, Scotland)
  2. Specific context: interwovenness of local and national politics makes decentralization a logical thing in minds of local politicians with national influence (France)
37
Q

What does historical institutionalism say about divergence?

A

Existing structures and past decisions and actions lead to persistent path dependent institutions. Which is path adherence to excising legacies leads to divergence. History with strong historic tradition of dual task model, will still prevailing the model even-though European trend might be something else (Germany)

38
Q

What is the role for local governments in context of decentralization?

A
  1. Higher trust for local governments than higher level ones
  2. Politicians should give more competences to local level > increase participation > increased trust
  3. Stabilising function
    - participation: opportunity for citizens to get involved in decision making
    - trust: trust is higher in local and regional public institutions
    - proximity to politicians: ensure spatial proximity for political problem solving
39
Q

3 Dimensions whereby we can compare local governments?

A
  1. Functional profile: scope and salience of functions responsibilities from vertical distribution between local and central government > responsibility and functions
  2. Territorial profile: structure and size
  3. Political profile: structure local democracy, relation council-executive, electoral procedure
40
Q

What is the functional profile?

A

Vertical division of tasks, scope of tasks and financial autonomy. Vertically local governments systems can be differentiated based on

  1. if state authorities and local self-governments execute responsibilities separately and largely independently from one other
  2. if levels interact strongly leading to a mix of state and responsibilities
41
Q

2 Administrative types based on the functional profile?

A
  1. Seperationist model (UK, Scandinavia):
    - fully fledged local government tasks
    - separation state and local government
  2. Fused system/administrative integrated models (continental Europe):
    - local self-government and assigned/delegated state tasks
    - integration competences > delegated responsibilities of centred government to execute some tasks
    - state centered integrationist model: state administration at local level
    - local administration centered integrationist model: dual functions, carrying out self-government tasks and the ones that state has delegated to them
42
Q

What is the territorial profile?

A

Institutional condition for viability and operational capacity local government.

The Southern model (Napoleonic) vs Northern model (Scandinavian, UK) of Page & Goldsmith (1987)

  1. Size
    - North: big, large scale municipalities (management and delivery)
    - South: small-scale (democracy and community)
  2. Function/tasks
    - North: wide range
    - South: limited
  3. Discretion / autonomy
    - North: important
    - South: restricted
  4. Degree access to central government
    - North: formally organized
    - South: informal and political interwoveness between levels of government. Political localism, multiple office holding
43
Q

What is the political profile?

A

Its about local leadership, council executive, citizen participation and interweaving access. It can either be horizontal or vertical.

  1. Vertical: acces local politicians to higher political levels
    - power local governments observed in access of local political actors to higher levels of political administrative system
    - cumul de mandates: local mandaté holder also hold mandate in higher level governments > France and Belgium
  2. Horizontal: how people are elected and how democracy functions
    - monistic system: all powers lie within local council, weak executive (UK, Sweden) > linked with seperational systems
    - dual systems: power divided between council and executive (Germany, Italy, France), stronger executive (linked with fused system)
    - Representative indirect democracy (UK, France) vs. direct democracy elements (Germany)
44
Q

What can we say about France when it comes to the 3 dimensions of comparing local governments?

A
  1. General competence clause
  2. Small scale: intermunicipal cooperation
  3. Fused system municipalities
  4. Functional privatisation
  5. Strong mayors: administration council president and external relations
  6. Strong local identity
45
Q

What can we say about Germany when it comes to the 3 dimensions of comparing local governments?

A
  1. General competence clause: strong Lander
  2. Differences depending on Lander
  3. Fused system municipalities
  4. Municipal companies and subsidiarity
  5. Strong directly elected mayors
  6. Binding local referenda
46
Q

What can we say about UK when it comes to the 3 dimensions of comparing local governments?

A
  1. Ultra vires rule: now new localism (general power of competence)
  2. Large scale
  3. Dual polity (seperationist)
  4. Strong local self-government: decisions + implementation
  5. Strong councils (control mayors)
  6. Weak local political profil (weak mayor, no community identity, dual polity)
47
Q

What are the Northern European reforms?

A

Upscalling (UK, Scandinavia and few German Landers). Reinforce administrative efficiency of local government.

  • functionally strong local government systems
  • efficiency and services are really important

Example:
UK: central government large grip on local government, because of Vires principal which is parliamentary sovereignty and the emphasism on efficient local government. District councils territorially merged into unitary authorities. Making bigger local entities in different ways brings messy situation

48
Q

What are the Southern European reforms?

A

Trans-scaling (France): Territorial structure local governments remained unchanged. Reform attempts failed because of dependency on consent of municipalities. Ensuring operative viability of very small scale municipalities by establishing inter-municipal bodies.
- tradition of small local communities > intermunicipal corporation (they shall remain small but the need more capacity, so enforce cooperation between small municipalities).

Example:
France: Attempt to voluntary amalgamation but failed because of voluntary consent (when these local communities agree). In time complex system of intermunicpal cooperation established (EPCI). System complicated and no direct election boards EPCI. In 2010 Reform Act introduces simplified procedure for real amalgamation and establishment Metropoles. With tasks of communities departments and regions > slow evolution towards scale enlargement

49
Q

What is reform hybrid when it comes to the Northern en Southern model?

A

In Germany some Landers had the Southern model and others the Northern model due to autonomy of Lander to organise local government.

  1. Nord Rhein Westfalen: amalgamations
    - existing municipalities preserved as fully fledged local self government units but also constitution of fully fledged local self-government with directly elected councils
  2. Schleswig Holstein: intermunicipal coorperation
    - directing board of inter municipal formation are appointed indirectly by member municipalities
  3. Most Lander: both
    - Lander have chosen for mix: more restrained reduction number of municipalities and inter-municipal formations
50
Q

What can be said about convergence and divergence when it comes to the Northern en Southern model?

A
  1. Convergence: reduction municipalities and amalgamation. Stronger local communities in either amalgamation or cooperation
  2. Divergence: within clusters. Territorial structures and no clear regional patterns
51
Q

What are the theoretical explanations for territorial reforms?

A
  1. Fiscal, economic demographic pressures
    - striving for functional optimisation, rational/efficient problem solving
    - economic institutionalism
    - Example: Eastern Lander: external pressure to make small municipalities survive politicians rationally take action
  2. party political preferences/ raising institutional-political profile/ shows of strength
    - Policy-/ vote seeking; actor constellations; veto players
    - actor entered institutionalism
  3. Reform convictions: efficiency/productivity versus creation of local identity
    - prevalence of discourse ideologies, framing
    - sociological institutionalism
    - Example: South: culture of voluntary, local-central interweaving, local identity strong
  4. Reform traditions. parliament enforcement versus voluntary principle
    - historic cultural anchoring of decision making styles
    - historical institutionalism
    - Example: North: strong central parliaments to enforce amalgamations
52
Q

What can be said about historical institutionalism when it comes to territorial reforms?

A
  1. Parliament power to enforce a local government territorial structure but binding legislation and overriding common good in the face of rejection
  2. Political cultural assumption that amalgamation only can be achieved with consent of affected local government units >voluntary principle
53
Q

What can be said about economic institutionalism when it comes to territorial reforms?

A

Enhance improvement of operative planning, action and coordination capacity of local authorities through their territorial and demographic enlargement
- East German Lander: inter-municipal formations need a high coordination, cooperation, external pressure by economic or fiscal crises

54
Q

What can be said about actor-centered institutionalism when it comes to territorial reforms?

A

Different scope and speed of reforms reflect different goals and intentions of relevant party political actors

55
Q

What can be said about sociological institutionalism when it comes to territorial reforms?

A

In Northern countries local government assigned the crucial role for national welfare. Southern countries the central government assigned with the welfare state and local level focus on serving political arena and express local identity

56
Q

What is an intersectional external administrative reform and what happened historically?

A

Privatization. It aims to readjust the relation between the state and market/civil society. This is what happened in cycles.

  1. 1960-1970: expansion of welfare state and state activities > government responsible for a lot of things, resulting in growth public tasks and administrative functions
    - rising public expenditure and public employment quotas
  2. 1980: NPM driven reform (Anglo-Saxon countries)
    - reducing and restricting the action radius of state and local government administrations to core tasks and adjusting the explanation of public tasks and expenditure through privatisation, outsourcing and delegation
    - reform drivers: economic crisis and political elections
  3. Re-nationalization: since financial crisis, a lot of critique on liberalisation and privatisation > deregulation of market by state and re-nationalization or remunicipalization of private functions and activities
57
Q

What were the drivers for privatisation in UK? Pollitt and Bouckaert

A

These led to strike and violence and change the way people looked at government and provision public services

  1. Economic crisis: government had to subsidise certain public sectors
  2. Theoretical justifications: rational for elites to do something else
    - sociological theory: countries copied from eachother
    - principal agent theory: government should stay responsible for what happens in public sphere but give responsibilities to agents to do the Jobe, because they are more efficient
    - decreasing the public sector
  3. Party political ideas: right wing neoliberalisms ideas, form an ideological perspective they promised to have solution for the crisis, the quantity of public services
58
Q

Why was privatisation EU driven? (1990s)

A
  1. 1990: EU policies directed at guaranteeing market liberalisation and freedom of competition, which has led to liberalisation and privatisation measures
    - EU competition policy led to paring back the state to its core functions and limiting it to an enabling function (providing public services for external actors
    - establishment of a common market also indicates the primacy of market and competition
  2. 2000: financial en economic crisis made general public dramatically aware of negative consequences of an overly deregulated portico-economic system. Critics of liberalisation and privatisation have received increasing attention. This led to 2 developments:
    - come back of public: re-regulating the market. Guaranteed competition and access to these services by means of government as regulator
    - privatisation as anser to budgetary crisis in South-Europe . Because they didn’t have enough money to deliver services they privatised more
59
Q

What are the types of privatisation?

A
  1. Functional privatisation

2. Organisational privatisation

60
Q

What is functional privatisation?

A

Transfer of public tasks to private actors via contractual arrangement. Tasks still to a large extent responsibility of government. It results in a principal agent relationship between government and execution organisations

61
Q

What is organisational privatisation?

A

It’s changing the legal and/or ownership status of public institutions. There are 3 forms:

  1. Organisational autonomy: automatisation
    - administrative units given a certain organisational and/or budgetary autonomy, while remaining within the public core administration by creating direct labor organisations or internal agentification
  2. Formal privatisation: corporatization
    - transfer of public tasks to legally independent organisation with managerial autonomy without changing ownership. Organisations are legally and organisationally autonomous but remain economically within ownership of state
  3. Asset privatisation: sale of public property to market
    - more intense: government doesn’t do it anymore and isn’t responsible
    - partial or complete sale of public property, enterprises, plants and other infrastructural facilities to private sector actors. Incl. private equity participation in public institutions and complete sale of public institutions

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