Thatcher, Reagan, and Mulroney: In Search of a New Bureaucracy (Pitt Series in Policy and Institutional Studies) [Paperback]

Donald J. Savoie (Author)

Book Description

Series: Pitt Series in Policy and Institutional Studies | Publication Date: January 28, 1994

Savoie considers the war of reform waged by the leaders of these major industrial countries. Reagan declared that he had come to Washington to “drain the swamp” of bureaucracy, and set up the Grace Commission to investigate the operation of the U.S. government. Thatcher and Mulroney were equally committed to reform and initiated wide-ranging changes. By the end of the 1990s, the changes were dramatic. Many governments operations had been privatized in all three countries, and new management techniques had been introduced. In Great Britain, one observer judged that the changes were historically as important as the collapse of Keynesian economics.
 
Is government now better in these countries, and was political leadership right in focusing on management of the bureaucracy as the villain? Savoie suggests that the reforms overlooked problems now urgently requiring attention and, at the same time, attempted to address non-existent problems. He combines theory and research based on sixty-two interviews, nearly all with members of the executive branch of the governments of Britain, Canada and the United States.
 

Editorial Reviews

Review

“In this informative and genuinely comparative study Donald Savoie offers valuable insights into the attempts in the '80s to introduce management techniques into government. . . . He concludes that 'politicians are probably in greater need of courses in governance . . . than career officials are in need of management development courses,' an observation which offers a tantalizing prospect for academics, but which is unlikely even to loom on the political horizon!”
—Political Studies

“Savoie's book is a useful and illuminating account of the quest for greater managerial efficiency in three countries. He illustrates the value of a comparative perspective.”
—Political Science Quarterly

About the Author

Donald J. Savoie holds a Canada Research Chair in Public Administration and Governance at the Université de Moncton.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press; 1 edition (January 28, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0822955199
• ISBN-13: 978-0822955191
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,358,652 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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