scope:

The field of public administration currently lacks sufficient resources for understanding the rationale, implications, and inherent practices of reforming government administration around the world.The Handbook of Administrative Reform satisfies this need by bringing together diverse international experts to analyze the sensible processes and intervention strategies central to administrative reform in nine nations geographically located in North America, Europe, and Latin America.

Organized into five related parts, the text begins by examining factors that influence administrative reform-most notably, pressure to adhere to the institutional, international, and supranational standards promulgated by globalization, the European Union, and the United Nations. Subsequent sections further support this hypothesis by delving into specific case studies of founding and early EU members, new EU members, and EU applicant nations. After a thorough exploration of North America and Latin America, the volume concludes with a challenge to public administrators around the globe to continue the noble cause of advancing democracy through accountable, transparent, and responsive reform.