Sebastian Jilke

Two track public services? Citizens' voice behaviour towards liberalized services in the EU15

Abstract Is there evidence for the emergence of ‘two-track’ public services, where the wealthiest, best-informed and most assertive customers get the best quality service? In this paper, we use public opinion data of citizen complaint behaviour from 2000 and 2004 towards services of general interest in 15 EU countries to provide a first examination of the ‘two-track’ public services hypothesis. The findings only partly support the expectation that socio-economic factors did have a negative impact over time on citizen complaints. While education did not have such an effect, age did. However, these results should be regarded as provisional for various reasons.

Extrinsic motivation, PSM and labour market characteristics: a multilevel model of public sector employment preference in 26 countries

Research findings have been contradictory with respect to the determinants of why people choose a public sector job. In this article we use an internationally comparative design with data from 26 countries to explain public sector employment preference. The study shows that on the individual level, public service motivation and extrinsic motivation are both important drivers for this preference. Intrinsic motivation, in turn, is negatively related to people’s inclination to work for the public sector. Moreover, having a lower income and lower education is associated with a greater preference for public sector employment. This suggests that working for the public sector is seen as a good and safe career option. Our results furthermore show that variation in this preference can only partly be explained by country differences. Nevertheless, in countries with a career- rather than position-based system of public employment, people are more likely to prefer public employment. Points for practitioners Attracting the best and brightest to work for the public sector requires an insight into why people prefer public over private sector employment. This article looks at what makes people prefer public sector employment in 26 countries. Findings reveal that public service motivation (helping other people, being useful to society) and extrinsic motives (job security, a high income, opportunities for advancement) play an important role in this preference. Still, there are considerable differences between countries. In countries with a career-based system of public employment, working in the public sector is seen as more attractive.

The State and Perceptions of Public Sector Reform in Europe

Like most other areas of the world, the public sector in Europe has undergone significant reform in the past two decades, shaped in part by a broader New Public Management (NPM) paradigm, but one that also introduces a unique European flavour to this form of public management. Whilst NPM and public administration in Europe shares similarities with other cases, the added complexity of differing starting points and the EU layer provide interesting insight into the nature of public administration. This chapter will draw on a large-scale survey of top European executives in central government, in order to develop a comprehensive picture of the perceptions of NPM reforms and their effects over the last five years. Focusing on a cross-selection of EU countries (plus Norway), the chapter will present findings about choice of policy instruments, relevance of different reform trends and their general success and impact within the case countries.Like most other areas of the world, the public sector in Europe has undergone significant reform in the past two decades, shaped in part by a broader New Public Management (NPM) paradigm, but one that also introduces a unique European flavour to this form of public management. Whilst NPM and public administration in Europe shares similarities with other cases, the added complexity of differing starting points and the EU layer provide interesting insight into the nature of public administration. This chapter will draw on a large-scale survey of top European executives in central government, in order to develop a comprehensive picture of the perceptions of NPM reforms and their effects over the last five years. Focusing on a cross-selection of EU countries (plus Norway), the chapter will present findings about choice of policy instruments, relevance of different reform trends and their general success and impact within the case countries.

Savings in public services after the crisis: A multilevel analysis of public preferences in the EU27

Policy responses to the global financial crisis can be divided into pro- and counter-cyclical approaches. The former advocates reducing public spending in times of financial constraints. The latter approach advocates public spending to boost the economy. Using public opinion (N = 23,652) data from 27 EU member countries, we empirically test a model for citizen preferences for reducing spending in public services versus government investment in measures to boost the economy as a response to the financial crisis. We look at individual- and country-level determinants of attitudes to savings in public services, and concentrate on four groups of explanations: political disaffection, ideology, self-interest, and macro-economic conditions. It was found that political disaffection and the respondent’s ideological orientation both have effects on preferences, as well as whether one experiences economic strain or receives welfare services. Macro-economic conditions, such as a country’s government deficit level, public debt or public expenditure have, surprisingly, no effect on citizens’ financial policy preferences. We discuss the implications of our results for public administration theory and practice. Points for practitioners The article analyses citizens’ preferred government reactions to the financial crisis. It distinguishes between reducing public spending and measures to boost the economy. It was found that macro-economic conditions matter very little for these preferences. In fact, explanations for these attitudes and preferences need to be looked for primarily at the individual level, not the country level. Preferences for or against savings in public services are largely influenced by ideological dispositions, age, education, overall levels of political trust, and whether citizens are (potential) beneficiaries of welfare services. The article contributes to understanding why citizens support or oppose pro- or counter-cyclical policy measures to emerge from the crisis.

Economic Strain and Perceptions of Social Cohesion in Europe: Does Institutional Trust Matter?

markdownabstract__Abstract__ The degree to which different social groups get along is a key indicator of the cohesiveness of a society. This study examines perceptions of social cohesion amongst Europeans and explains variations in those perceptions by considering the separate and combined effects of economic strain and institutional trust. Analyses were conducted with the 27 member countries of the EU based on the Eurobarometer 74.1 on poverty and social exclusion conducted in 2010. Results show that individuals living in households experiencing economic strain perceive social cohesion to be weaker than their less economically hard-pressed counterparts. By contrast, individuals trusting their political institutions perceived there to be higher levels of cohesion. Furthermore, institutional trust substantially moderates the negative relationship between economic strain and perceptions of cohesion. These results are robust to various model specifications. Moreover, extending the analysis revealed that this moderating effect held when considering social relations between the poor and rich and between different racial and ethnic groups. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.

Measurement Equivalence in Replications of Experiments: When and Why it Matters and Guidance on How to Determine Equivalence

ABSTRACT Replications of experiments are typically conducted to verify initial findings, increase their external validity, or to study the boundary conditions of treatment effects. A crucial and implicitly made assumption is that outcome measures in experiments are sufficiently comparable (i.e., equivalent) across experimental settings. We argue that there are good reasons to believe that this equivalence assumption may not always be met and should therefore be tested empirically. Integrating the literature on experimental replication and survey measurement equivalence, we provide guidance when and how experimental replicators need to determine cross-replication equivalence.

Job Satisfaction and Regime Change: Evidence from a Natural Experiment

ABSTRACT Little is known about the effects of regime change on government workers’ job satisfaction. Conventional theories of work satisfaction have identified various individual or organizational antecedents of public employees’ well-being in many different contexts. In this study, we add an additional level of analysis to the study of job satisfaction. The German reunification in 1990 constitutes a natural experiment where public employees’ institutional work environment changed dramatically. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we show that, after the reunification, East German public employees who stayed in their jobs experienced a “satisfaction shock” by substantially decreasing their levels of job satisfaction. This finding is in line with what has been labelled as “survivor syndrome” in the general management literature. We also find that, after three years’ time, differences in satisfaction levels between East and West Germans reverted to pre-reunion levels. These findings are robust to various model specifications and alternative estimators. The theoretical and practical implications of our findings are discussed.

Welfare States and Social Cohesion in Europe: Does Social Service Quality Matter?

In this article, the authors evaluate whether the provision of good quality social services has the potential to create social cohesion. In addition to examining the relationship between social services and social cohesion, the authors expand institutional theories of social capital by investigating whether this potential for building social solidarity may be resilient to the corrosive effects of economic strain. Multilevel analyses of variations in the perceptions of social cohesion amongst Europeans were conducted for 27 member countries of the EU using the Eurobarometer 74.1 on poverty and social exclusion from 2010. The results suggest that individuals receiving better quality social service provision perceived higher levels of social cohesion within the country in which they live. By contrast, individuals living in households experiencing economic strain perceived lower levels of cohesion. Further analysis revealed that the experience of economic strain does not weaken the positive relationship between social services quality and perceptions of cohesion.

Behavioral Public Administration: Connecting Psychology with European Public Administration Research

Well-known public administration scholars have stressed the importance of psychological research for the study of public administration. Neighboring disciplines such as economics and political science have witnessed the emergence of the psychology-informed subfields of behavioral economics and political psychology. Along the same lines, an emerging behavioral public administration is an approach characterized by the interdisciplinary analysis of public administration from the micro-perspective of individual behavior and attitudes by drawing upon recent advances in our understanding of the underlying psychology and behavior of individuals and groups. In this chapter we connect past calls for a behavioral public administration with current research in public administration, and outline a path for future integration of public administration and psychology in European public administration.