Frontiers of Governance: The OECD and Global Public Management Reform

by L. Pal

Overview

The first detailedanalysis of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) influence on global public sector reform. Based on extensive interviews and internal documents, this book explores the evolution of the OECD's approach to governance issues over the last 50 years and what its future agenda should be.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780230309302
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan UK
Publication date:	02/07/2012
Series:	Public Sector Organizations
Edition description:	2012
Pages:	283
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.60(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

LESLIE A. PAL Chancellor's Professor in the School of Public Policy and Administration at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada.

Table of Contents

List of Tables vii

List of Figures viii

List of Abbreviations/Acronyms ix

Preface xii

Governance, networks and the OECD xiii

Themes and contributions xx

Chapter 1 Frontiers of Governance and the OECD as an International Organization 1

Emergence of governance and public management as a policy area" 2

International government organizations and policy transfer 10

The OECD as an organization 16

Conclusion 27

Chapter 2 Governance and its Emergence in the OECD 29

Marshall Plan and the OEEC 30

From TECO to PUMA to GOV 34

Outreach and governance 58

Conclusion 63

Appendix 1 Thematic building blocks for guiding elements on public governance and management in global relations 65

Chapter 3 Public Management and Governance in the OECD 77

GOV: Directorate and committees 78

SIGMA 103

OECD governance initiatives outside of GOV 104

Economics department (ECO) 104

Development Cooperation Directorate (DCD) and the Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs (DAF) 107

Office of the Secretary-General 109

Conclusion 116

Chapter 4 Networked Tools: How Does the OECD Do Its Governance Work? 120

Peer review 122

The OECD governance acquis 133

Government at a Glance (GaaG) 139

Regional cooperation: The case MENA 145

The accession process 152

Conclusion 158

Chapter 5 Modernizing Governance: Is There an OECD View? 162

Governance Outreach Initiative (2000) 164

The Building Blocks (2007) 171

Block 1 Budgeting 171

Block 2 Human resource management 172

Block 3 Integrity and corruption resistance 175

Block 4 Internal and external reporting: Open government 176

Block 5 E-government readiness 178

Block 6 Centres of government 178

Block 7 Regulatory quality 182

Block 8 Multi-level governance 184

Discourse on governance and management 186

Theme 1 Reform is driven by pressure 186

Theme 2 Surprises and unintended consequences 187

Theme 3 Reform involves multiple goals 188

Theme 4 The importance of culture/values and the organic nature of reform 189

Theme 5 Context matters/differences among countries 191

Theme 6 Change is difficult 192

Conclusion 196

Chapter 6 The OECD's Influence on Governance Issues 201

Judging the influence of the OECD and GOV 202

Case study: Canadian and Finnish legislative debates 205

Comparisons among OECD countries 207

OECD as an expert body 209

OECD models and recommendations 210

Adaptation to global developmental trends 212

New potential reference types 213

A survey of academics and practitioners 217

Evaluation of the PGC 219

Conclusions 233

Chapter 7 Conclusion 236

Key themes 236

The OECD's approach to governance issues 242

What's missing? 250

Notes 255

Bibliography 261

Index 274

Editorial Reviews

'Frontiers of Governance is a singular contribution to our understanding of the inner workings and outer influence of the OECD, particularly in terms of the organization's role in public management reform, public policy development, and governance issues around the world.'

- Jocelyne Bourgon, President of Public Governance International, former Clerk of the Privy Council, Canada, former Permanent Representative to the OECD, Delegation of Canada

'This is a timely work in an impressive series. Pal shows why the study of the OECD is indispensable for an understanding of networked governance. Going beyond traditional club-oriented institutional analyses, this well-crafted book probes issues at the core of current debates about policy adaption from budgeting, to anti-corruption and E-government. Although aware of the constraints imposed on the OECD's agenda, tools, and influence, Pal re-locates the OECD as a vital driver towards needed governance innovation.'

- Andrew F. Cooper, Professor, Balsillie School of International Affairs and Department of Political Science, University of Waterloo, Canada, and Distinguished Fellow, The Centre for International Governance Innovation

'Frontiers of Governance provides a definitive examination of the OECD that is both compendious and in-depth. It documents and analyses the OECD's unrivalled role in chronicling, dissecting, and proclaiming the trends and directions of public management across three decades. There is an illuminating account of movements in thinking and practice of public management, which is grounded in the OECD country surveys and cases from its member network. The book systematically examines and evaluates the roles and impact of the OECD in expanding international understanding of public management modernisation and providing benchmarks by which countries and academics can calibrate their positions.

- John Halligan, Research Professor of Government and Public Administration, Faculty of Business and Government, University of Canberra, Australia

From the Publisher