This open access book presents a topical, comprehensive and differentiated analysis of Germany’s public administration and reforms. It provides an overview on key elements of German public administration at the federal, Länder and local levels of government as well as on current reform activities of the public sector. It examines the key institutional features of German public administration; the changing relationships between public administration, society and the private sector; the administrative reforms at different levels of the federal system and numerous sectors; and new challenges and modernization approaches like digitalization, Open Government and Better Regulation. Each chapter offers a combination of descriptive information and problem-oriented analysis, presenting key topical issues in Germany which are relevant to an international readership.

Originally published in 1987, this book examines German governmental policy from 1969-1986 and explains this in terms of the political, economic and administrative dynamics of the (then) Federal Republic. The study includes analysis of the attitudes and the role of West German interest groups, political parties, public opinion, the legislature and the federal states regarding European policy. The book is based on extensive interviews as well as the authors’ familiarity with the institutions and key players involved. It will appeal to students of German politics, the EU and international relations.

When the United States' founding fathers set up a federal system of government, they asked a question that has never been satisfactorily settled: How much governmental authority belongs to the states, and how much to the national government? In an atmosphere of changing priorities and power bases, the Committee on National Urban Policy convened a symposium to address this division. The symposium examined the "New Federalism" as it relates to the Supreme Court, urban development, taxpayers, job training, and related topics. "Throughout the symposium the future evolution of the American federal system was debated," says the book's summary. "Yet whatever new idea or theory emerges, it is likely to continue to include the inevitable conflict between the allegiance to a national government and the respect for state and local loyalties."

Federalism and Political Performance features a panel of international experts who compare the political performance of federal and non-federal states and evaluate the impact of different types of federation.

Germany is clearly the dominant economic force in Europe. It occupies the pivotal position of being at the centre of both the EC and of attempts to rebuild the economies of East Central Europe. The German Economy traces the various aspects of German policy and growth, concentrating in particular on the last two decades. These include: the German economy in perspective the regional dimension fiscal policy monetary policy social policy the labour market banking and finance industry, trade and economic policy. In The German Economy Eric Owen Smith has produced the only comprehensive account of the contemporary German economy currently available in English.