Public administration

Dive inside this textbook for an accessible guide to the discipline of public services; explore core public service topics and understand the fundamental elements of working in the public services.

Why do top-down reforms to public services so often over-promise and under-deliver? Using five concepts from psychology, economics and organisational sociology and diverse examples of successes and failures, Thomas Elston addresses this pressing question of good governance.

Written by two distinguished housing economists, this ambitious book tackles one of the most important socio-economic issues facing households today. Drawing from theoretical and empirical frameworks, the authors challenge conventional wisdoms in housing economics and policy and offer innovative recommendations to improve housing affordability.

This book is a highly readable introduction to the transport debate from two experts in the field. The book follows members of the Smith family as they uncover a wide array of transport issues. This lively and engaging approach will make the book ideal for a wide readership.

As time banking has received increased attention from policy makers as a means for promoting welfare reform in the wake of austerity, this book is the first to look at the concept of time within social policy to examine time banking theory and practice.

Matthew Quinn plots a landmark reimagination of governance and public administration, underpinned by sustainable development and civic republicanism.

This edited collection explores areas such as social enterprise, capacity building, volunteering and social value, and charts the historical development of the state-third sector relationship, reviewing the major debates and controversies accompanying recent shifts in that relationship.

Carrie Manning’s illuminating book examines how policies to limit taxation at state and local levels in the US have direct and lasting consequences for equity, accountability, and ultimately for democracy.

First published as a special issue of Policy & Politics, this book makes a statement about the study of policy and politics: what it is, how it is done, where it has been and where it is going. It comprises scholarship that has rarely been combined to explore several fundamental challenges about research in policy and politics.

This short book explores Sweden’s response to the global pandemic and the wave of controversies it triggered. It helps to make sense of the response by defining ‘a Swedish model’ that incorporates the country’s value system and offers a case study for understanding the ways in which different national approaches to the pandemic have been compared.

Citizens' everyday conduct is shaped by governmental action, yet there is much evidence that both front-line public service staff and service users can sometimes act in ways that modify or disrupt intended policy outcomes. This book presents a highly original examination of how policy objectives can be 'subverted' through the actions of citizens.

Based on his personal experience at the heart of government and the voluntary sector, Nick Raynsford, a former MP, Minister and campaigner, explores making and implementing policy and legislation. He gives an ‘insider’s view’ on a range of events, some not previously made public, making a fascinating bridge across the policy and practice divide.