Defining the new public management, Fred Thompson; the five R's of the new public management, L.R. Jones and Fred Thompson. Part 1 The status of new public management - applied and theoretical considerations: what the new public management is achieving - a survey of Commonwealth experience, Sanford Borins; the new public management and the new political economy - missing pieces in each other's puzzles, Howard Frant; new public management theory - lessons from institutional economics, James M. Ferris and Elizabeth A. Grady; the new public management as an international phenomenon - questions from an American skeptic, Lawrence Lynn. Part 2 New public management in selected nations: "newer than new" public management - financial management and collective strategies in New Zealand, June Pallot; legitimization as granted by the client - reflections on the compatibility of new public management and direct democracy, Kuno Schedler; implementation problems for the new steering model, Helmut Klages and Elke Loeffler; autonomy, responsibility and new public management in Italy, Riccardo Mussari; two paradigms for managing China, James L. Chan; better government versus less government - relationships between size and economic growth in Japan and other nations, Katsuaki L. Terasawa and William R. Gates; lessons from public sector financial management change in OECD nations, James Guthrie et al. Part 3 New public management implementation challenges: the new public management and its critics, David G. Mathiasen; the learning organization framework and the new public management, G.B. Reschenthaler and Fred Thompson; education and training for new public management, Christoph Reichard; what factors have led to public sector innovation and who is leading the change?, Carol Johansen; information era influences on the new public management, Barry Frew and L.R. Jones; performance auditing strategies in OECD nations, Michael Barzalay.