Trajectories of Reform: Public Management Change in Four Countries

It is fashionable to think there is a tide, or sequence, of basically similar public management changes sweeping through Western Europe, North America and Australasia, and British ministers have proclaimed that the UK is an admired and copied leader in public sector reforms. This article argues that a uniform ‘one-track’ picture is not at all accurate. Looking at 15 years of change in Finland, New Zealand, Sweden and the UK, the authors argue there are not only significant differences between each of the countries, but a more general and persistent distinction between the two Nordic countries and the UK and New Zealand. In the ‘Westminster system’ countries, the aim appears to have been to minimize the extent and distinctiveness of the state sector, whereas in the Nordic countries much greater emphasis has been placed on modernizing the state apparatus so that it can deal better with a changing environment.