Contracting out government services is one of the principal market-type mechanisms applied in OECD Member countries. Its use is increasing in virtually all Member countries as the evidence mounts that contracting out can lead to efficiency gains while maintaining or increasing service quality...

One of the alternatives to traditional command-and-control regulation is the use of marketable permits and obligations. Based on the growing record of actual performance of these instruments, this paper provides practical insights into difficult design, implementation, and management issues. It...

This study offers is a limited "snapshot" of basic pre-tax pay for senior civil servants. It does not cover other factors relating to total lifetime rewards, such as the rewards likely to be available on leaving public service employment; lifetime earnings in a career public service structure,...

The Public Management Occasional Papers are specialised reports prepared for the work of the OECD's Public Management Committee. This publication focuses on the reform strategies used in Portugal. The success or failure of reforms depends largely on how the questions of "how to start" and "how...

In many countries a new concept is emerging as an alternative to command-and-control regulation: the concept of shared responsibility between governments and businesses. Governments and businesses are seeing a need for co-operation and partnership, rather than confrontation and adversarial...

Traditionally, pay analysis in the public sector has been based on cross section data, such as average or median wages. This study differs in that micro longitudinal data are used to explain and compare pay determination in the French and Italian civil services. Based on examples, the report...