TOWARDS STANDARDS FOR THE PUBLICATION OF PERFORMANCE INDICATORS IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR: THE CASE OF SCHOOLS

Since the 1990s, the media and public authorities in many developed countries have published data on the quality of public services such as schools, hospitals and police. In the education sector the publication of performance indicators and league tables generated considerable debate. In this article, the policy context of this development in the education sector is analysed in conjunction with the problems associated with the public reporting of school performance indicators. This is followed by a discussion of the need for an accepted set of publication standards. The aim of this article is to initiate a debate about whether international consensus can be reached on the content of such a set of standards, and whether a particular set of standards, developed in the Dutch context, is applicable in and relevant to other countries. These Dutch standards have been applied to a variety of English, American and Dutch publications. The results of the analysis suggest that if the Dutch standards were applied, school performance publications could be significantly improved.     

THE EUROPEANIZATION OF HEALTH CARE GOVERNANCE: IMPLEMENTING THE MARKET IMPERATIVES OF EUROPE

The paper examines the Europeanization process and the impact of the European Union (EU) on national healthcare policies, using the example of Denmark. The analysis reveals that although health policy formally falls within the competence of member states, the impact of the EU is becoming increasingly conspicuous and has contributed to a gradual restructuring of healthcare boundaries as well as of some of its organizing principles. Furthermore, the process and impact have a de‐structuring effect on the more traditional governance tools used in relation to healthcare. The paper concludes that the EU has a significant impact and that we may be witnessing the formation of a new institutional legacy that represents the initiation of a Europeanized healthcare model: a model emerging around a new set of stakeholders, principles and structures, which includes the market, principles of free movement, patient choice and patient rights institutionalized and safeguarded by the EU.     

SCRUTINIZE ME,PLEASE! THE DRIVERS,MANIFESTATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS OF ACCOUNTABILITY‐SEEKING BEHAVIOUR

Voluntary accountability, where people and organizations willingly subject themselves to scrutiny, seems counterintuitive. The common understanding is that increased accountability has negative consequences for the accountor; and so why would anyone voluntarily seek accountability when it is not required? Current explanations hold that external pressures can explain accountability‐seeking behaviour, and the proponents are not convinced by the argument that it is beneficial to the accountor. In contrast, this study finds that accountability often serves the accountor's interests. A six‐part typology of accountor‐beneficial motivations is developed, the empirical adequacy of which is tested through extensive case studies. The results show that public accountability can be a means rather than a burden in the hands of political executive leaders. These findings challenge the conventional principal–agent understanding of accountability and suggest that the study of the poorly understood practice of democratic accountability would benefit from a more leader‐centric perspective.     

Pharmaceutical regulation in Denmark and the UK: Reformulating interest representation to the transnational level

Abstract. Common elements are recognised across Denmark and the UK in regulation of the pharmaceutical industry, which are attributed to the impact of associational action at the sector level. Our examination of arrangements for regulating medicine prices and information displays many of the hallmarks of neo-corporatism – namely negotiation with state agencies, compliance seeking among members, and policy implementation through acting as a Private Interest Government. During a period of economic internationalisation and directive international agencies, we show how business interests have reformulated to transnational levels, with associations, despite facing a greater complexity of interests to represent, having a strong impact upon regulatory outcomes. These have been neither wholly deregulatory or reregulatory, but partly reflect events at national levels. This may predict regulatory developments at the European level in other sectors.