Resource Allocation in the Public Sector

<p>In the public sector at the moment resources are scarce - or at the very least finite and limited - how they are allocated is therefore of crucial importance.<br>This book analyses this process and examines the competing values that underlie the public service ethic, including the role of markets and quasi-markets, in the delivery of public services.<br>Topics discussed include:<br>* whether people should be denied the public services they need because public bodies are short of money<br>* what balance we should strike between markets and public organisations to provide public services<br>* whether the use of markets has gone too far and whether we need to return to a public service ethic</p> 1 The problematics of public service resource allocation 2 The heuristics of resource allocation: how people determine priorities 3 The apologetics of public sector organisations 4 The rhetoric of resource allocation: arguments about how priorities should be set and resources allocated 5 The mechanics of making markets 6 The dialectic of resource allocation 7 A polemic: conclusions about resource allocation and public services