Skip to main content

The Nordic Model Revisited: Active Reformers and High Performing Public Administrations

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Nordic Administrative Reforms

Part of the book series: Public Sector Organizations ((PSO))

Abstract

This chapter outline three generations of reforms and examines to what extent the reforms have increased the performance of public administration in the Nordic countries. The overall perceived performance is good in the Nordic countries, but to what degree this is due to successful reforms is more uncertain. Another conclusion is that it is not easy to pin down a specific Nordic model partly due to a complex reform pattern. The Nordic countries come out as active, motivated and rather satisfied reformers and management reforms are at the forefront. There is a North-South divide in Europe when it comes to administrative reforms. The traditional East-Nordic and West-Nordic model needs to be modified. But overall the country differences are the most significant when understanding variations in the administrative reform pattern.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Bouckaert, G., B.G. Peters, and K. Verhoest. 2010. The Coordination of Public Sector Organizations. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Christensen, T., and P. Lægreid, eds. 2001. New Public Management. The Transformation of Ideas and Practice. Aldershot: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———, eds. 2007a. Transcending New Public Management. The Transformation of Public Sector Refroms. Aldershot: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2007b. The Whole of Government Approach to Public Sector Reform. Public Administration Review 67(6): 1059–1066.

    Google Scholar 

  • Egeberg, M., and J. Trondal. 2009. Political Leadership and Bureaucratic Autonomy: Effects of Agencification. Governance 22(4): 673–688.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hammerschmid, G., S. Van de Walle, R. Andrews, and P. Bezes, eds. 2016. Public Administration Reforms in Europe: The View from the Top. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Head, B.W., and J. Alford. 2015. Wicked Problems: Implications for Public Policy and Management. Administration & Society 47(6): 711–739.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hood, C. 1991. A New Public Management for All Seasons? Public Administration 69(1): 3–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huxley, K., R. Andrews, G. Hammerschmid, and S. Van de Walle. 2016. Public Administration Reforms and Outcomes across Countries and Policy Areas. In Public Administration Reforms in Europe: The View from the Top, eds. G. Hammerschmid, S. Van de Walle, R. Andrew, and P. Bezes. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kettl, D.F. 2002. The Transformation of Governance. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klijn, E.H., and J.F.M. Koppenjan. 2015. Governance Networks in the Public Sector. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lægreid, P., and O.K. Pedersen, eds. 1999. Fra opbygning til ombygning i staten. Organisationsforandringer i tre nordiske lande. København: Jurist- og Økonomforbundets Forlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • NPR. 2001. History of the National Partnership for Reinventing Government. National Partnership for Reinventing Government Archives. http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/npr/whoweare/historyofnpr.html. Accessed 18 Feb 2016.

  • Olsen, J.P. 1996. Norway: Slow Learner or Another Triumpf of the Tortoise? In Lessons from Experience. Experimental Reforms in Eight Democracies, eds. J.P. Olsen, and B.G. Peters, 180–213. Oslo: Scandinavian University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olsen, J.P 2010. Governing through Institution Building. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Osborne, S.P. 2006. The New Public Governance? Public Management Review 8(3): 377–387.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osborne, S., ed. 2010. The New Public Governance: Emerging Perspectives on the Theory and Practice of Public Governance. London/New York: Routledge/Taylor and Francis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pollitt, C., and G. Bouckaert. 2011. Public Management Reform. A Comparative Analysis: New Public Management, Governance, and the Neo-Weberian State, 3rd edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Streeck, W., and K. Thelen. 2005. Beyond Continuity. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Copyright information

© 2016 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Greve, C., Lægreid, P., Rykkja, L.H. (2016). The Nordic Model Revisited: Active Reformers and High Performing Public Administrations. In: Greve, C., Lægreid, P., Rykkja, L. (eds) Nordic Administrative Reforms. Public Sector Organizations. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56363-7_10

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics