Economic Crisis, Public Administration, and Governance

Abstract

The global financial crisis that began in 2008 has had a significant impact on public administration in most countries in the world. This paper explores several dichotomies in which each of two opposing approaches to public management are frequently advocated and may be appropriate in different circumstances: path dependence (adhering to existing policies or changing course), centralization or decentralization, politicization (reliance on political appointees or the permanent bureaucracy), coordination and coherence or retention of power by individual ministries or agencies, and time perspective (the search for quick relief or long-term solutions). The crisis has disrupted the stability of public administration in many countries. At the same time, it has facilitated policy and institutional changes that otherwise might not have been possible to implement. Different countries, experiencing the current economic crisis in different ways, have chosen different options within these dichotomies, with varying levels of success.