Public management reform in Denmark

Abstract

This article discusses public management reform in Denmark. First, the institutional features of the Danish public sector are introduced. Danish ministries enjoy a considerable amount of autonomy that makes central co-ordinated public management reform challenging. The second part of the article outlines the contents of public management reform and provides an overview of the major reform initiatives of the last three governments. Denmark's reforms are characterized as a mixture of strategies for modernization and marketization, but with most emphasis on the former rather than the latter. Together with successive governments, the Danish Ministry of Finance has argued strongly for efficiency, economy and effectiveness as key values and they have been institutionalized in modernization efforts. Denmark should now be considered a country where NPM reforms have taken a firm hold.

Key words:

• Marketization
• modernization
• public management reform

Acknowledgements

This article was originally prepared and presented as a paper to brief international researchers on the recent developments in Danish public management reform. A seminar was held in London on 9 January 2004 and arranged by the Forum for Top Executive Management established by the Danish Ministry of Finance, Local Government Denmark and Danish Regions as a part of a project on ‘public governance – code for chief executive excellence’ in Denmark. Comments from participants on that occasion and later are acknowledged. The reviewers' comments were also instructive and helpful. The article has also benefited from a wider project on public management policymaking in Denmark that the author has conducted together with Niels Ejersbo of University of Southern Denmark whose influence is appreciated and acknowledged.