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Scientific article, ­12 April 2020

How Government Agencies React to Termination Threats

Jostein Askim , Jens Blom-Hansen , Kurt Houlberg & Søren Serritzlew
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Staged photo: Sine Fiig/VIVE

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Kurt Houlberg Professor, Cand.scient.pol., PhD P: +45 31 57 66 84 kuho@vive.dk
Much research following Kaufman’s classic study Are Government Organizations Immortal? has investigated the claim that government agencies enjoy great security and long life. Less attention has been paid to Kaufman’s thesis that government agencies facing a termination threat have strong incentives to react. In a study of the on-going Norwegian local government amalgamation reform, we demonstrate that this type of government agency reacts by hoarding (i.e., a last-minute flurry of spending) when faced with a termination threat. This finding shows that agencies facing termination threats are active players in the termination game. We discuss implications for research on agency termination and design implications for reformers of the public sector.
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VIVE – The Danish Center for Social Science Research provides knowledge that contributes to developing the welfare society and strengthening quality development, efficiency enhancement and governance in the public sector, both in municipalities, regions and nationally.

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