Deregulating the Public Service: Can Government Be Improved?

Abstract

Deregulating the public service essentially means altering or abolishing personnel procurement regulations that deplete government workers' creativity, reduce their productivity, and make a career in public service unattractive to many talented, energetic, and public-spirited citizens. With the benefit of a historical perspective on the development of American public service from the days of the progressive to the present, the contributors to this book argue that deregulating the public service is a necessary, but insufficient, condition for many of the needed improvements in governmental administration. They recommend new and large-scale experiments in deregulating the public service at all levels of government.