This book sheds new light on the political economy of public management reform. It examines the new forms of economic decentralization and macroeconomic adjustment, and discusses their implications for policy design and regulation.The authors discuss leading-edge research on public management reform, privatization and decentralization in both industrialized and aid-dependent countries, concentrating on the meso-level of institutional response. Combining theory, case studies and institutional analysis, they focus on issues including public/private partnerships, public finance and aid allocation. The authors also present new ideas on the design of a regulatory framework.This book will be welcomed by academics and researchers working in the fields of development studies, development economics, political economy and international public management as well as policymakers working for government agencies and NGOs in developing countries.