Public Sector Reforms in Developing Countries Paradoxes and Practices [Hardcover]

The underpinning assumption of public management in the developing world as a process of planned change is increasingly being recognized as unrealistic. In reality, the practice of development management is characterized by processes of mutual adjustment among individuals, agencies, and interest groups that can constrain behaviour, as well as provide incentives for collaborative action. Paradoxes inevitably emerge in policy network practice and design.

The ability to manage government departments and operations has become less important than the ability to navigate the complex world of interconnected policy implementation processes. Public sector reform policies and programmes, as a consequence, are a study in the complexities of the institutional and environmental context in which these reforms are pursued. Building on theory and practice, this book argues that advancing the theoretical frontlines of development management research and practice can benefit from developing models based on innovation, collaboration and governance.

The themes addressed in Public Sector Reforms in Developing Countrieswill enable public managers in developing countries cope in uncertain and turbulent environments as they seek optimal fits between their institutional goals and environmental contingencies.

Introduction: Paradoxes of Public Management Reforms in Developing Countries (Charles Conteh and Ahmed Shafiqul Huque)  1. Public Management Reform in Developing Countries: Contradictions and the Inclusive State (Ahmed Shafiqul Huque and Habib Zafarullah)  2. An Appraisal of the New Public Governance as a Paradigm of Public Sector Reform in Africa (Charles Conteh)  3. Public Participation and Co-Production in the Irrigation Sector of Punjab of Pakistan (Muhammad Junaid Usma Akhtar, Denita Cepiku, & Antonio Lapenta)  4. CollaborativelS8