This book focuses on regulatory reforms and the autonomization and agencification of public sector organizations across Europe, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. The central argument of the book is that regulation and agencification occur and perform in tandem. Comparative analysis on the processes, effects and implications of regulatory reform and the establishment of semi-independent agencies are undertaken, and the practice of trade-offs between political control and agency autonomy is explored. The contributors also discuss the challenges of fragmentation, coordination, 'joined-up' government and other government initiatives in the aftermath of the New Public Management movement and its focus on agencification. Finally, the complexity of deregulation/re-regulation, new emergent forms of regulation, control and auditing as well as reassertion of the centre are examined.Until now, there has been little attempt to link the study on regulation and regulatory reforms with that of autonomous central agencies. In this book the two fields are brought together.

Autonomy and Regulation will find its audience amongst scholars and researchers working in the areas of political science, public administration and public management, organization theory, institutional analyses and comparative administration. It will also appeal to scholars and those directly involved in public sector and regulatory reforms including politicians and managers.