哪种改革最重要——来自新西兰的证据

在公共行政界,新西兰有两大事实广为人知。第一,新西兰实施了全面的公共部门改革,并且处于新公共管理运动的最前沿。第二,在几个衡量政府绩效的国际排行榜上,新西兰成绩不俗。本文通过观察新西兰财务管理、制度结构、信息管理和委任程序方面的改革,分析了这些事实之间可能存在的相互关系。通过运用政府主持的"新西兰人调查"的最新数据,我们考察了政府绩效的哪一部分对新西兰人最重要。结论显示,尽管大多数评论家强调财政改革和体制变革,然而早期关于信息公开、非政治任命和公共责任的改革对新西兰人最重要。

Which Reform is Most Important——Some Evidence from New Zealand

In public administration circles there are two widely accepted stylised facts about New Zealand.First,New Zealand implemented sweeping public sector reforms and was at the forefront of the New Public Management movement.Second,New Zealand scores very well on several international league tables measuring the quality of government.This paper considers possible connections between these stylised facts by looking at reforms of financial management,institutional structures,information management and appointment processes in New Zealand.Recent data from the government-commissioned "Kiwis Count" surveys is used to identify which aspects of government performance are most important to New Zealanders.It seems that though most commentators have focused on finance and institutional reforms,earlier reforms involving open information,non-political appointments and public accountability are more significant to New Zealanders.