This book provides a comparative study of the use of partnerships and new forms of governance to achieve policy goals that promote economic and social development. In addition to a consideration of the theoretical challenges posed by these institutional developments, the book reviews recent experiences in Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America.

Mark Considine's new book explores the nature of public policy-making in a world undergoing cataclysmic change. Running through the text is the core assertion that policy-making can best be seen as a form of intervention into specific social and cultural contexts, and not as an engineered solution to universal problems.

The book provides a comprehensive and up-to-date introduction to key issues and contemporary debates in public policy. The author draws on a wide range of examples from around the world to develop a framework for understanding the way social contexts, policy...

Mark Considine's new book explores the nature of public policy-making in a world undergoing cataclysmic change. Running through the text is the core assertion that policy-making can best be seen as a form of intervention into specific social and cultural contexts, and not as an engineered solution to universal problems.

The book provides a comprehensive and up-to-date introduction to key issues and contemporary debates in public policy. The author draws on a wide range of examples from around the world to develop a framework for understanding the way social contexts, policy...

Throughout the industrialized world, universities have undergone remarkable changes since the mid-1980s. The Enterprise University in Australia is the first systematic study of the Australian system since the momentous Dawkins reforms ten years ago. Grounded in case studies of seventeen Australian universities, the authors contend that the modern university can be understood as an "enterprise university," characterized by corporate-style executive leadership.

This book explores two fundamental shifts in the paradigms of governance in Western bureaucracies: the widespread use of privatization, private firms and market methods to run core public services, and the conscious attempt to transform the role of citizenship from ideals of entitlement and security to new notions of mutual obligation, selectivity and risk. Mark Considine examines a key service of the modern welfare state unemployment assistance--to explain and theorize the nature of these radical changes. He has undertaken extensive research in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia...

This book examines the different normative approaches politicians, bureaucrats and community actors use to frame the innovation puzzle, arguing that these create specific cultures of innovation.The authors explore the role of formal institutions and informal networks in promoting and impeding governmental innovation."

Scholars and policymakers have long known that there is a strong link between human development and spending on key areas such as education and health. However, many states still neglect these considerations in favour of competing priorities, such as expanding their armies. This book examines how states arrive at these decisions, analysing how democratic accountability influences public spending and impacts on human development.

The book shows how the broader paradigm of democratic accountability - extending beyond political democracy to also include bureaucratic and...

Getting Welfare to Work traces the radical reform of the Australian, UK, and Dutch public employment services systems. Starting with major changes from 1998, this book examines how each national system has moved from traditional public services towards more privately provided and market-based methods.
Each of these three countries developed innovative forms of contracting-out and complex incentive regimes to motivate welfare clients and to control the agencies charged with helping them. The Australian system pioneered the use of large, national contracts for services to all unemployed...