This book explores the extent to which a transformation of public employment regimes has taken place in four Western countries, and the factors influencing the pathways of reform. It demonstrates how public employment regimes have unravelled in different domains of public service, contesting the idea that the state remains a 'model' employer.

The aims of and motives for development cooperation have changed significantly in recent times. Besides pursuing short- and longer-term objectives in their own economic, foreign policy and other interests, donors usually have a recognisable and genuine interest in assisting countries in their processes of development.

In politics, ideas matter. They provide the foundation for economic policymaking, which in turn shapes what is possible in domestic and international politics. Yet until now, little attention has been paid to how these ideas are produced and disseminated, and how this process varies between countries. The National Origins of Policy Ideas provides the first comparative analysis of how "knowledge regimes"—communities of policy research organizations like think tanks, political party...

The last decade has given rise to a strong public discourse in most highly industrialized economies about the importance of a skilled workforce as a key response to the competitive dynamic fostered by economic globalisation.The challenge for different training regimes is twofold: attracting young people into the vocational training system while continuing to train workers already in employment. Yet, on the whole, most countries and their training systems have failed to reach those ...

How are metropolitan regions governed? What makes some regions more effective than others in managing policies that cross local jurisdictional boundaries? Political coordination among municipal governments is necessary to attract investment, rapid and efficient public transit systems, and to sustain cultural infrastructure in metropolitan regions. In this era of fragmented authority, local governments alone rarely possess the capacity to address these policy issues alone.This book ...

Despite a substantial legacy of literature on EU interest representation, there is no systematic analysis available on whether a European model of interest representation in EU governance is detectable across functional, and territorial, categories of actors. ‘Functional’ actors include associations for business interests, the professions, and trade unions, as well as ‘NGOs’ and social movements; territorial based entities include public actors (such as regional and local government), as w...

Across the EU, services are the cornerstone of the modern economy, accounting for over 70% of national GDPs and over 90% of new jobs created. Fostering trade in services has, accordingly, become central to the EU's vision for developing the internal market. Yet regulating services and their international trade is notoriously complex, and controversial. For years the EU's efforts were limited to sector-specific regulation in key areas, until the adoption of the general Services Directive in...

With contributions from leading international experts from within both the communications industry and academia, Trends in Communication Policy Research comprises the very latest developments in the theories, methods and practical applications of this dynamic field. Topical and politically relevant, this authoritative volume will prove an invaluable reference for students and scholars seeking to understand communication policy issues.

To honour the distinguished career of Donald Savoie, Governing brings together an accomplished group of international scholars who have concerned themselves with the challenges of governance, accountability, public management reform, and regional policy. Governing delves into the two primary fields of interest in Savoie's work - regional development and the nature of executive power in public administration. The majority of chapters deal with issues of democratic governance, particularly t...

Public management research has in recent years paid increasing attention to the third sector, especially to its role in the provision of public services. Evidence of this is the rising number of publications on the topic, as well as a growing number of sessions and papers on the topic in academic conferences of the EGPA and IRSPM. However, much of the discussion on its role is motivated at least as much by ideology as by fact. We still lack a proper empirical understanding of what happens ...

In modern society, economic growth is considered to be the primary goal pursued through policymaking. But when and how did this perception become widely adopted among social scientists, politicians and the general public? Focusing on the OECD, one of the least understood international organisations, Schmelzer offers the first transnational study to chart the history of growth discourses. He reveals how the pursuit of GDP growth emerged as a societal goal and the ways in which the methods e...

In many countries, particularly in continental Europe, societies have been plagued by high unemployment for several decades. Simultaneously, due to recent shifts from industrial to service-oriented post-industrial societies, labor as a significant culture code is increasingly loosing importance. Because of this, the third or voluntary sector as a place of employment and as a service agency to society has become important for Europe as indicated by the 1997 Communication of the European Com...