Designing Government: From Instruments to Governance

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McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP, 2005 M02 14 - 467 pages
How do governments govern today and how well do they do it? How do governments choose the tools or instruments they will use to get things done? In today's world, how could these decisions be improved from the standpoint of efficiency, effectiveness, legitimacy and accountability? "Designing Government" brings together leading experts to examine the "instrument choice" perspective on government and public policy over the past two decades. The authors examine such issues as accountability, effectiveness, sustainability, legitimacy, and the impact of globalization. The debate is enriched by contributors from several countries who provide a comparative context and, most importantly, help chart a course for the future. Moving beyond the traditional regulatory sphere and its preoccupations with deregulation and efficiency, the authors trace the complex relationships between instrument choices and governance. "Designing Government" encourages the reader to consider factors in the design of complex mixes, such as issues of redundancy, context, the rule of law and accountability. These latter factors are especially central in today's world to the design and implementation of effective instrument choices by governments and, ultimately, to good governance. The authors conclude, in fact, that seeing instrument choice itself as part and parcel of designing government and achieving good governance is both the promise and the challenge for instrument-based perspectives in the years ahead. Contributors include Hans Bressers (University of Twente), Neil Gunningham (Australian National University), John Hoornbeck (University of Pittsburgh), Margaret Hill (Infrastructure Canada), Michael Howlett (Simon Fraser University), Bridget Hutter (London School of Economics and Political Science), Pierre Issalys (Université Laval), Réjean Landry (Laval University), Roderick A. Macdonald (McGill University), Larry O'Toole (University of Georgia), B. Guy Peters (University of Pittsburgh), Michael J. Prince (University of Victoria), Sean Rehaag (University of Toronto), Arthur B. Ringeling (Erasmus University), Stephen J. Toope (McGill University), Michael J. Trebilcock (University of Toronto), Frédéric Varone (Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium), and Kernaghan Webb (Carleton University).

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Contents

Introduction
3
THE ORIGINS AND EVOLUTION OF THE TOOLS APPROACH
19
FORM AND FUNCTION THE TOOLS APPROACH TO POLICY DESIGN
75
FROM INSTRUMENTS TO GOVERNANCE
183
The Future of Instruments Research
353
Notes and References
365
Index
451
Copyright

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About the author (2005)

Pearl Eliadis is a Montreal-based lawyer and lecturer. She has worked with human rights systems in six countries, including Canada. Eliadis teaches civil liberties at McGill University and is president of the Quebec Bar Association's Advisory Committee on Human Rights.

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