While frontrunners like the United Kingdom (UK) under Thatcher, the United States under Reagan and the New Zealand began New Public Management (NPM) reforms in the 1980s, Germany’s federal government level only showed movement toward modernization in the late 1990s, and efforts still have not gone far enough to be evaluated with confidence. The most notable government reforms were, undertaken by the local governments, which engaged in incremental reforms in the 1980s, and only began engaging in NPM after a ten-year delay in the 1990s, when the UK and other countries had started concentrating government reform efforts on engaging multi-stakeholder networks through local and public governance measures.
Focusing on the local level of government I attempt to explain the puzzle as to why Germany was a decade behind in adopting NPM measures, and why the initiative to reform public management started primarily at the local level and remains mainly limited to the local level of government. Subsequently, the purpose of this paper is to illustrate to what extent local government reforms in Germany vary from those perused by the NPM pioneer, the UK. A focus will be on institutional and ideological particularities of the German NPM response, and detailed information about the NPM contents implemented in the Federal Republic will only be mentioned if they support comparative claims. Further, I will provide a broad assessment to what extent German reform feature can be ascribed directly to internation NPM influences.
Relevant information about the UK, its governmental structure and reform efforts will be given. Moreover, the structure of the German government system, and local government reforms since the 1960s will be elucidated, followed by an evaluation of reasons as well as initiators behind reform efforts. Lastly, the reform effort in Germany will be broadly compared to those in the UK in order to classify the local administrative reforms in the Federal Republic.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction
- The United Kingdom
- Government Structure
- NPM Reform Endeavors
- NPM Influences on Local Governments
- German Government System
- Local Reforms in Germany
- Participatory revolution in the 1960s and 1970s
- Incremental Change in the 1980s
- Wave of Changes in the 1990s
- Reasons for Local Reform
- Incrementalist Reform Efforts
- Delayed NSM Reforms
- Influences for NPM Style Reform
- The Dutch Reform Paradigm
- National Advocates
- Differences in Implementation
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This paper aims to explain why Germany lagged behind other Western countries in adopting New Public Management (NPM) measures and why local government reforms in Germany were different from those in the UK, a pioneer in NPM.
- The delayed adoption of NPM in Germany
- The unique characteristics of local government reforms in Germany
- The influence of the Dutch reform paradigm on German reforms
- The role of the Kommunale Gemeinschaftstelle für Verwaltungsvereinfachung (KGSt) in promoting reforms
- The differences in implementation between Germany and the UK
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The first chapter provides an introduction and outlines the purpose of the paper, which is to analyze the differences between German and UK local government reforms in the context of NPM.
The second chapter delves into the UK's government structure and its experience with NPM reforms. It highlights the UK's centralized government, the significant influence of the national government on local authorities, and the country's dominance as a model for NPM reforms.
The third chapter examines the German government system, including its federal structure, decentralized administration, and emphasis on the Rechtsstaat model.
The fourth chapter explores the three modernization stages in postwar Germany that impacted local government structure and orientation: a participatory revolution in the 1960s and 1970s, incremental changes in the 1980s, and NPM-style reform in the 1990s.
The fifth chapter examines the reasons for the delayed adoption of NPM measures in Germany, including the country's existing administrative strengths, the prevalence of non-profit service providers, and the lack of severe financial pressures in the 1980s.
The sixth chapter analyzes the influences behind the German NSM (Neues Steuerungsmodel) reforms, highlighting the Dutch reform paradigm, particularly the Tilburg model, and the significant role played by the KGSt as a promoter of NSM reforms.
The seventh chapter compares the implementation of NPM reforms in Germany and the UK, highlighting the different approaches, focuses, and key features of the two systems.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
The core keywords and focus topics of this text include: New Public Management (NPM), local government reforms, Germany, UK, Rechtsstaat, subsidiarity, Neues Steuerungsmodel (NSM), Kommunale Gemeinschaftstelle für Verwaltungsvereinfachung (KGSt), Tilburg model, decentralized administration, centralized administration, incrementalism, marketization, competition, and citizen participation.
- Citar trabajo
- Janna Lüttmann (Autor), 2007, Local Government Reforms in Germany, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/81226
