Public Services and Financial Austerity

By: Roger Latham and Malcolm Prowle

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Synopsis: As countries across the Western world struggle to deal with the financial stability of their public services, there is no doubt that the current crisis affecting the public sector is not only the worst post-war, but perhaps the worst in the last hundred years. The current thinking about the economy and the public sector has not only contributed to the financial difficulties but may even have created some of the problems in the first place. As public sector reforms try to find a solution to the crisis, it seems unlikely that continuing with the same approach will provide a solution to the issue of public debt that will be politically or socially acceptable. This book argues that current policies may have some measure of success, but it may be "at a price we cannot afford. " It proposes a radical alternative based upon a sound understanding of how organisations and the economy work and discusses practical ways it could be implemented. It also explores the threats, as well as the opportunities, that such an approach will face.