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Administrative reform in Portugal: problems and prospects

University of Minho, Braga, Portugal

Joaquim Filipe Ferraz Esteves de Araujo

University of Minho, Braga, Portugal

Administrative reform has been an important issue for several decades in Western countries. Like other Western countries, Portugal developed an increasing interest in administrative reform. This article is a contemporary analysis of Portuguese administrative reform. It introduces the Portuguese system and outlines its major features. Briefly stated, the decrease in State expenditure is represented by the proletarization of the middle class that lives off the State; there is an increase in party clientelism, since the old systems based on legal statutes are subject to flexibilization; and, finally, privatizations increase economic monopolies because the regulatory agencies do not work. This means that if this therapy was to be applied to small countries like Portugal, it could have serious consequences for Europe.

Points for practitioners

The article reflects the consequences of New Public Management when applied to a traditional bureaucracy. The introduction of administrative reform is more difficult in legal systems such as Portugal. So practitioners and politicians can learn from this case study when dealing with reforms in similar systems.

Key Words: administrative reform • modernization • New Public Management • political system • Portugal • public administration

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International Review of Administrative Sciences, Vol. 73, No. 4, 583-596 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0020852307083461


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This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Web of Science (1) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Rocha, J.A. O. Articles by Ferraz Esteves de Araujo, J. F. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?