Arms Length Bodies

There has always been a diversity of organizational forms within the public sector. However, in some countries organizational diversification has increased significantly through the distribution of government responsibilities to so-called "arm's-length bodies." This notion reflects their common characteristic of being at arm's length from the control of politicians, outside the hierarchical control of traditional vertically-integrated line ministries and departments. There is some uncertainty concerning the scale of this movement of staff and budgets towards such agencies. Some commentators maintain that arms-length agencies have always been found within governments and that some highly publicized examples of "agencification" have skewed the debate (Wettenhall 2005). Others argue that the creation of distinct entities with independent financial management regimes held responsible for discrete areas of service delivery is a distinct and growing phenomenon.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Shepherd, Geoffrey, Manning, Nick
Language:English
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2009-11
Subjects:ACCOUNTABILITY, ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIVENESS, APPROPRIATIONS, ASSETS, BANKS, CIVIL SERVANTS, CONTINGENT LIABILITIES, CONTROL SYSTEMS, DECENTRALIZATION, DEMOCRACIES, EXTERNALITIES, FEDERAL AUTHORITIES, FINANCIAL AUTONOMY, FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, GOVERNMENT POLICY, GOVERNMENT REGULATION, GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITIES, HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, LEGAL REQUIREMENT, LEGISLATION, MINISTER, MINISTERS, MONETARY POLICIES, PATRONAGE, POLICE, POLICY DEVELOPMENT, POLICY OBJECTIVES, POLITICAL CONTROL, POLITICIANS, PRIVATE SECTOR, PUBLIC, PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, PUBLIC INTEREST, PUBLIC MANAGEMENT, PUBLIC MONEY, PUBLIC SECTOR, PUBLIC SECTOR EFFICIENCY, PUBLIC SECTOR MANAGEMENT, PUBLIC SECTOR ORGANIZATIONS, PUBLIC SECTOR PERFORMANCE, PUBLIC SECTORS, PUBLIC TRUST, REGULATORS, REGULATORY ADMINISTRATION, REGULATORY ISSUES, SAVINGS, SERVICE DELIVERY, TAX, UTILITIES,
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2009/11/11937581/arms-length-bodies
https://hdl.handle.net/10986/10521
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!