Dear All
* Apologies for cross posting *
Some of you may be interested in a Call for Papers for the journal 'Public
Administration' on the subject of 'Public Services After the Crash'. The
full call is included below, and is also available from the journal
website:
http://www.wiley.com/bw/journal.asp?ref=0033-3298
With thanks and best wishes
Dr Leo McCann
University of Manchester, UK
---------------
CALL FOR PAPERS
A SPECIAL ISSUE OF 'PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION' ON PUBLIC SERVICES AFTER THE
CRASH
Following the dramatic financial crisis of 2007–8, the world of political
discussion and public opinion is awash with proposals for public spending
cuts and efficiency ‘rationalizations’. The crash was a near-global event.
Practically all nations were deeply affected, from the richest nations of
the US, Japan and Europe, to less-developed and transitional economies.
Its effects have been diverse. While certain governments (notably in the
USA) are already starting to sell off their equity stakes in failed banks,
others remain mired in failure and uncertainty. The public and private
finances of many nations have become interlocked in crisis. Estonia and
Hungary, for example, have seen their currencies slump in value as their
banking sectors entered near-collapse. In turn, Sweden has become heavily
exposed since its banks invested an estimated $90bn in these now-
struggling East European economies. The Greek economy has required a
€110bn EU and IMF bailout that was highly unpopular in many member states.
In the Republic of Ireland, real-term pay cuts of up to 6.5 per cent have
already been applied in several public sector occupations.
Budget deficits in many OECD nations have hit record highs. Following the
sub-prime collapse, banking bailouts and stimulus packages have radically
eaten into public funds while the recession chokes off tax income.
Practically all major political parties describe dramatic spending cuts
as ‘unavoidable’. In the UK, for example, the Chancellor’s pre-budget
report of 9 December 2009 announced plans to make ‘efficiency savings’ of
£12bn. Major political parties across OECD countries have promised to make
substantial cuts across wide ranges of public services, including inter
alia healthcare, local and central government, education, prison and
probation services, and armed forces. In some cases, for example in many
US states, cuts of this kind have already taken place. Sell-offs,
efficiency drives, policy reforms, and the raising of the mandatory age of
retirement are also on the agenda, as commentators predict a new era of
austerity in many nations. Paradoxically, the crash has also been
associated with increases in public spending in some areas, including the
revival of quasi-Keynesian public works programmes aimed at stimulating
demand.
WHY CONTRIBUTE TO THIS SPECIAL ISSUE?
Major reform appears to be in the offing. This call for papers aims to
bring together international scholars to debate the theory and practice of
public services reform initiated around the world in response to the 2007–
8 crash. The aim is to explore what the crisis means for public
administration at multiple levels: organizational, political, social,
economic, financial, and theoretical. Papers on the following themes are
especially welcome:
1. What mechanics, policies, philosophies and technologies are being
used to create ‘efficiency’ in public sector organizations? How successful
might they be, especially given that public organizations in much of the
world have already been through many rounds of transformation under the
rubric of New Public Management?
2. In what ways are public sector employees facing up to cuts? What
employee entitlements (such as pensions, pay and job security) are being
threatened and why? How will reform affect the quality of working life for
public servants?
3. Many nations are posting record budget deficits. But what effects
will the differing institutions and political traditions associated with
the ‘varieties of capitalism’ have on the way in which governments and
public organizations respond to this crisis? Is there an emerging ‘world
best practice’ for public sector change in recessionary times, or are
nations each going their separate ways?
4. What roles might be played by transnational organizations such as
the WTO, IMF, EU and World Bank in promoting ‘best practice’ for public
administration worldwide?
5. To what extent can the marketplace remain the ‘model’ for public
sector efficiency given widespread market failure of recent years? Has New
Public Management been discredited by the crisis, especially since it
originated from the highly liberalized economy of the USA?
6. How will reforms affect service provision? Is the quality and
coverage of public service provision in decline following cutbacks? Or can
a virtuous circle be drawn in which public services can be made cheaper
and more effective?
7. To what extent are different parts of the public sector more
vulnerable to cuts than others? Why might some countries be better able to
survive the crisis than others?
8. How will public sector professionals respond to the pressure for
reorganization? Will they embrace or resist change, and why? What role
will organized labour play in the new era, especially since public sector
union density and coverage remains relatively strong across OECD nations?
9. What, if any, historical inferences can be drawn from changes to
public sector provision that took place during crisis periods in other
times and places?
10. A wide range of new (and old) theoretical discourses have been
used to understand and explore public services reform, examples being
Weber on bureaucracy; Foucault on performance management; public sector
workers as ‘immaterial labourers’; New Public Management as ‘a New Spirit
of Capitalism’. In what ways can we theoretically understand the role of
public services in what could be a new era of austerity?
OBJECTIVE OF THE SPECIAL ISSUE
The objective of the special issue is to generate a discussion that is
international and multidisciplinary, cross-cutting multiple lines of
political ideology. Such a rich and detailed discussion of the future of
public services around the world may turn out to be crucial for our
understanding of the emerging contours of state and market in these highly
uncertain times.
The call is open to contributions based on empirical data (qualitative and
quantitative) as well as to high-quality theoretical and/or ‘position’
papers. We welcome submissions from a range of relevant social science
disciplines (for example, political science, public administration,
business and management, economics, sociology, social policy, and
industrial relations) from scholars in all regions of the world, and from
researchers at any stage of their career.
HOW TO MAKE YOUR SUBMISSION
All submissions will be blind peer-reviewed as per the usual review
process of Public Administration. Papers should adhere strictly to the
published author submission guidelines (http://www.wiley.com/bw/submit.asp?
ref=0033-3298&site=1).
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION
The deadline for submission of full papers is 31 January 2011. Papers
should be between 6000–8000 words long (those longer than this will be
automatically returned for cutting). Please submit papers through the
Public Administration Manuscript Central pages
(http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/padm).
Initial expressions of interest and any informal enquiries about the
special issue should be sent to:
Dr Leo McCann
Manchester Business School
Booth Street West
University of Manchester
United Kingdom
leo.mccann@mbs.ac.uk