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Module Title
LM Public Sector Reform
School
Government
Department
International Development
Module Code
08 30294
Module Lead
Sameen A. Mohsin Ali
Level
Masters Level
Credits
20
Semester
Semester 2
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions
None
Exclusions
Description
The module has three components:
Public Sector Reform (including civil service reform). This component will take as its starting point a discussion of the purpose of the public sector and the critique of universalist approaches to governance and reform, and emphasise a more balanced approach to make reform more effective.
Public Service Reform, including changing forms of delivery. This component would take as its starting point critiques of New Public Management and focus on alternative approaches to and strategies for reform, with a particular emphasis on the factors influencing the success and failure of reforms in particular contexts.
Decentralization Reforms (including territorial reform, functional decentralisation, fiscal reform and decentralised finance). This component will explore international the advantages and disadvantages of decentralisation, and study the variations in the relationship between decentralized governance, fiscal and functional decentralization across different contexts.
The module will conclude with discussions aimed at identifying and analysing commonalities and inter-connections between the three different field of reform and the issues arising from these.
The geographical coverage will be wide, focusing on countries from the Global South and the Global North, and encouraging students to draw on their own country contexts.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should be able to:
Critically analyse the role of the public sector, and the potential benefits and problems associated with Public Sector Reform in countries around the world
Demonstrate engagement with themes and debates in the literature on public sector reform
Develop an understanding of different approaches to political and fiscal decentralisation across country contexts
Evaluate different strategies for reform in the Global North and the Global South
Assessment
30294-01 : Assignment 1 - 2500 words : Coursework (50%)
30294-02 : Assignment 2 - 2500 words : Coursework (50%)