Social policy, labour markets and industrial relations are closely linked, both empirically and conceptually, as described in the first part of the paper using examples drawn from the USA and Europe. The same issues are then explored in more detail for the Russian case. The latter half of the...

Political involvement in administration is essential for the proper functioning of a democracy. Without this an incoming political administration would find itself unable to change policy direction. However public services need protection against being misused for partisan purposes, they need...

The need for more differentiated pay setting in the public sector is probably the most important driver behind decentralisation. Both the labour market and the public activities have become less homogeneous, and public administrations need – just like any other employer – to develop...

How are performance-based arrangements at the individual level related to performance management arrangements at higher levels such as the agency or programme level? The report aims to provide practical lessons and insights into performance-based arrangements for senior civil servants, derived...

The consequences of an ageing workforce are magnified in the public sector because it generally has an older demographic profile than the private sector (OECD, 2006). The challenge of attracting and retaining capacity within the public service as large numbers of experienced public servants...

In this essay some reflections are offered on the nature of psychiatric classification, on how these diagnostic categories have evolved in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manuals of Mental Disorders (DSM) system and on the development of services based on them. These are described, and then...

The objective of this paper is to provide a review of the theoretical and, in particular, empirical literature on performance-related pay in the public sector spanning the fields of public administration, psychology, economics, education, and health with the aim of distilling useful lessons for...