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Key Text New Public Management in Developing Countries

Author: W McCourt
Date: 2002
Size: 15 pages

Summary

Why has the scale of the implementation of New Public Management (NPM) in developing countries been only modest? Where it has been implemented, what has the experience shown? In what form is NPM applicable on a wider scale? This paper from the Institute for Development Policy and Management addresses these questions, highlighting the importance of adapting the NPM model to meet the needs of governments and their political contexts.

The NPM model has three notable elements: devolving authority and providing flexibility; developing competition and choice; and providing responsive service. The debate about the application of NPM in developing countries is still in its infancy, and there are few analytical studies available. However, there are significant cases where NPM has been implementated, none of which have been straightforward.

Some of the difficulties experienced with NPM are inherent to the model - its top-down, managerialist approach. Others are contingent, caused by problems such as corruption and lack of capacity. Further factors affecting the implementation of NPM are:

The slow dissemination of this new approach.
Competition from other public management initiatives, such as the public administration model and the Washington model of civil service reform. The latter - often unsuccessful - is seen as a pre-condition to NPM.
The political infeasibility of changes such as NPM in countries with rigid post-colonial constitutions and internal power struggles which dominate government attention.

There is scope for applying NPM more widely in developing countries. However, what is ultimately needed is a major effort to develop indigenous public management models better suited to specific contexts. In the meantime, the following steps are necessary to make NPM more attractive to developing country policymakers and therefore more likely to succeed:

Promising elements of NPM (the use of performance indicators, contracting out and quality management approaches) should be separated from unpromising elements such as quality circles and citizen's charters.
More research is required into NPM in developing countries.
Scholars have a role to play in helping governments understand and tailor the NPM model to their own requirements.
Governments need to be aware of the process of refraction that elements of NPM will undergo as they are implemented and the political context in which the initiatives will take place.

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Source: McCourt, W., 2002, ‘New Public Management in Developing Countries’ in New Public Management: Current Trends and Future Prospects, ed. K McLaughlin, S Osborne and E Ferlie, Routledge, London
Author: Willy McCourt , willy.mccourt@man.ac.uk
Institute for Development Policy and Management (IDPM), http://www.sed.manchester.ac.uk/idpm/