Book Reviews
| Date | 01 October 2015 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0019556120150412 |
| Author | C. Jeevan Kumar |
| Published date | 01 October 2015 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
BOOK REVIEWS
Lane, Jan-Erik, 2012, State Management: An Inquiry into Models
of
Public Administration and Management, Routledge, Abindgon, Special
Indian Edition, Paperback, ISBN: 978-0-145-49235-5.
The core concern
of
public administration has been
to
attain efficiency
in public service delivery.
To
the students who want to enquire into different
models
of
public service delivery, here
is
a book from Jan- Erik
L~e
entitled,
State Management:
An
Inquiry into Models
of
Public Administration and
Management. The book has
15
chapters (with bibliographies at the end
of
each chapter) and an index. The book addresses the fundamental questions,
such as, can state be managed or governed,
if
a state can be managed like
a private organization?
The introduction sets the stage for the book by probing into a fundamental
question: Is public management different from private management?
Answering this question, Lane outlines that public management borrows
a few concepts from private management, yet they are different from each
other over matters such as objective and the scope
of
service delivery, law
and regulation, access, and equity, etc. This book on state management takes
a critical look at traditional models
of
state management.
The first and second chapters argue against the thesis
of
bureaucratic
efficiency (p. 11). Lane explores the rise
of
other alternative informal
models, such as quangos in Scandinavian countries, which are outcomes
of
public management reforms and e-govemance. In contrast to 'fat' and
'vertical' formal organizations (with the principal-agent problem), they
are 'fiat', 'horizontal' and flexible. The book examines the most daunting
problem
of
accountability in public institutions by applying the principal-
agent framework. The asymmetry
of
information between the principal
(government) and agent (bureaucracy) has been illustrated with sound
assumptions, such as, moral hazard and adverse selection. The author has
thoroughly discussed that public management reforms
in
the developed
countries could not resolve agency problem, leaving much to be desired to
ensure the quality
of
services delivery.
Quality
of
services can be ensured through proper implementation
of
public policies through bottom-top approach and joint decision making'
by
the central and regional governments (policy as nesting game), with the
active participation
of
diverse stakeholders (advocacy groups), coalitions
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