“Mechanical Arts and Merchandise”
Canadian Public Administration
in the New Economy
H.W. Arthurs*
The “New Economy”, with its attendant trends
and consequences, presents a number of distinct chal-
lenges
to Canadian public administration. The key
features of the New Economy –
changes in technol-
ogy and the social organization of work, globalization
and regional economic integration, and shifts in the
boundary between the state and civil society –
de-
mand a reconsideration of the ways in which we have
previously thought about bureaucracy, government,
and the role of the interventionist state. These changes
in our political economy have profoundly destabilized
Canadian public administration and require us to find
new ways to cope with their collective effects. The so-
lutions we choose will dictate what our public admini-
stration will look like in the New Economy, in this, the
“declining age” of the Canadian state.
In addition to exploring the impact of the New
Economy on public administration, the author also
considers how various strategies said to be appropriate
for its reform are likely to play themselves out in the
context of the New Economy. Traditionally, the three
main strategies that have been proposed for the reform
of public administration are increased legal control of
the administration, enhanced professionalism in the
public service, and greater democratic participation.
The author suggests that these strategies are outmoded
and will not likely be successful in the context of the
New Economy. A fourth strategy, of more recent vin-
tage, is that of reinventing public administration as a
market. The author concludes that this strategy of
“marketization” will result in dramatic changes in the
way we view the role of government and public ad-
ministration.
La (Nouvelle tconomie>> et les tendances et con-
sdquences qui l’accompagnent, prdsentent de nom-
breux ddfis pour ‘administration publique canadienne.
Les 6ldments-cl6 de la Nouvelle ,conomie –
les chan-
gement technologiques et l’organisation sociale du tra-
vail, la globalisation et l’int6gration &onomique r~gio-”
nale de meme que le d6placement des fronti~res entre
l’6tat et la soci& civile –
requi rent une remise en
question des anciennes fagons de concevoir la bureau-
cratie, le gouvemement et le r6le interventionniste de
l’6tat. Ces changements dans notre eonomie politique
ont profonddment ddstabilis6 l’administration publique
canadienne; il importe de trouver de nouveaux moyens
de faire face h leur effet combin6. Les solutions que
nous choisirons seront ddterminantes quant t l’aspect
que prendra notre administration publique A l’ re de la
Nouvelle &conomie et en cet
canadien.
En plus d’explorer l’impact de la Nouvelle &co-
nomie sur l’administration publique, l’auteur examine
comment les diffdrentes stratdgies prdconisdes pour sa
r6forme sont susceptibles d’interagir dans le contexte
de Ia Nouvelle lconomie. Traditionnellement, les trois
stratdgies principales propos6es pour Ia r6forme de
l’administration publique sont un contr6le judiciaire
accru de ‘administration, une mise en valeur du pro-
fessionnalisme dans le service public et une plus
grande participation d6mocratique. L’auteur sugg~re
que ces strat6gies son ddsu~tes et peu susceptibles de
mener au succ~s dans le contexte de la Nouvelle &co-
nomie. Une quatri~me strat6gie, plus r6cente celle-lh,
est de rdinventer ‘administration publique A la manire
d’un march6. L’auteur conclut que cette stratdgie de
<
