Prof Martin Lodge and Prof Geoffrey Myers

This course is compulsory on the Master of Public Policy. This course is not available as an outside option.

This course will offer an intensive introduction into key literatures and themes in the study of public management. The emphasis will be on the trans-disciplinary literature dealing with public management in the context of developed and lesser developed world contexts. The course will cover, among other things, questions such as public sector reform, coordination and collaboration, control over bureaucracy, professionalism and public service motivation, performance management, crisis management, leadership, institutional capacity building, and organizational learning. The course will emphasise the key theoretical contributions and relate these to empirical contexts.

This course is delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars and workshops totalling a minimum of 40 hours across Autumn Term. 

Students will be expected to produce one short essay (1200 words) around the middle of term, based on a choice of questions, providing an opportunity to practise for the assessed essay and the exam. Essay feedback will be provided in sufficient time for students to take it into account for their assessed essay. 

• Barber, M (2015) How to Run a Government, London, Penguin.
• Emerson, K and Nabatchi, T (2015) Collaborative Governance Regimes, Georgetown University Press.
• Hood, C (1998) Art of the State, Oxford, Oxford University Press.
• Ingrams, A, Piotrowski, S and Berliner, D (2020) 'Learning from Our Mistakes: Public Management Reform and the Hope of Open Government' Perspectives on Public Management and Governance, 3(4): 257–272, https://eprints.lse.ac.uk/115178/
• Myers, G (2023) Spectrum Auctions: Designing markets to benefit the public, industry and the economy, London: LSE Press, pp. 53–67, https://doi.org/10.31389/lsepress.spa
• Perrow, C (1984) Normal Accidents: Living with High Risk Technology, (New York, Basic Books)
• Simon, H (1947/2013) Administrative Behavior, Simon & Schuster.

The given texts are preparatory reading only. A full reading list will be provided at the start of the course.

Exam (50%, duration: 2 hours) in the January exam period.
Essay (50%, 2500 words) in the AT.