The Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) of the European Union has come under fire for failing to rein in budget deficits and for the ineffectiveness of its sanctions. By examining trends in public debt and budgetary positions, this article examines whether the SGP has met its objectives and...

This article uses international comparisons to demonstrate the UK's relatively low spending on health care services and considers why extra money is being raised from National Insurance Contributions rather than from other sources of tax revenue. It outlines various options for measuring the...

The 2007-09 credit crunch has not only created problems for the UK’s public finances in meeting the costs of bailing out commercial banks and dealing with recession but also for providing better public services. This paper analyses the causes of the credit crunch, government policies to...

The contemporary understanding of public sector risk management entails a broadening of the traditional bureaucratic approach to risk beyond the boundaries of purely financial risks. However, evidence suggests that in reality public sector risk management does not always match the rhetoric. This...

This paper analyses the partnership-based outsourcing model of service transformation in USA local government, focusing on the city of Sandy Springs which became widely known for its large-scale 'turnkey' outsourcing of provision of its services in the mid-2000s. This city has been referred to...

This paper analyses the partnership-based outsourcing model of service transformation in USA local government, focusing on the city of Sandy Springs which became widely known for its large-scale ‘turnkey’ outsourcing of provision of its services in the mid-2000s. This city has been referred...