Beyond the 'Inherited Model': Public Service Bargains in the Commonwealth Caribbean

Abstract:     
This article pays tribute to Professor Edwin Jones, the preeminent scholar of public administration and executive government in the Caribbean. We examine Jones' work through the lens of "public service bargains," the mainly implicit understandings between public servants, politicians, and civil society which underpin the workings of the executive. After demonstrating how such a perspective complements Jones' scholarship, we examine three dominant administrative reform paradigms, "the managerialist state," "the regulatory state" and "the governance state." In doing so we demonstrate how Jones' work continues to offer a research programme for public administration in the Caribbean.

Keywords: Jamaica, Public Service Bargains, Commonwealth Caribbean, Public Administration, Executive Government

JEL Classification: D73, H70

Accepted Paper Series