“New Public Management has failed in developing countries.” Critically examine.

The New Public Management came about as a way to make the government work better. It was supposed to make the government more efficient, effective and responsive to peoples needs by using ideas from companies. This approach worked well in rich countries but people are not sure if it will work in poor countries. Some people say it did not work well in poor countries and it even failed in some cases. The New Public Management is still a topic of discussion because of this.

Limitations of NPM in Developing Countries

• The New Public Management or NPM for short had a lot of problems. It was not able to work because the institutions were not strong enough. The rules and regulations were not good either. The people in charge did not have the skills they needed to do their jobs.
• When the New Public Management tried to use market-based ideas like hiring companies and managing performance it often did not work out well. This was because the systems that were supposed to keep an eye on things were not strong. As a result people were not held accountable. There was corruption. The New Public Management did not think about the lives of people like how many of them were poor or did not have equal opportunities. In places the government is supposed to help people and make things fair, not just make money.
• The New Public Management also made things too complicated by breaking up the administration into many parts. This made it hard for different groups to work together in important areas, like health and education. The New Public Management had a lot of issues. It is clear that it did not work well in many cases.

Arguments Against the ‘Failure’ Thesis

The New Public Management or NPM is not a failure. People used some of the NPM tools like outcome budgeting and performance indicators. They also used e-governance and public-private partnerships. This helped make some areas of work more efficient. In a lot of cases the New Public Management failed because it was not adapted to the situation, not because the New Public Management itself was flawed. The New Public Management had some points but it was not used correctly in some places.

NPM’s mixed outcomes in developing countries highlight the need for contextualized reforms. Rather than rejecting NPM outright, a hybrid governance model balancing efficiency with accountability, equity, and democratic values is more suitable for developing societies.

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