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Prof. Drechsler interviewed by top Hungarian weekly
Wolfgang Drechsler, Professor and Chair of Governance at the Ragnar Nurkse School of Innovation and Governance, recently gave an interview to the nr. 1 Hungarian liberal-financial weekly Figyelö in which he discussed the current state of Hungarian public administration and his views on how to measure performance in the public sector. The full interview (in Hungarian only) can be accessed here.
A major part of the interview discussed the recent public administration reforms in Hungary, in which professor Drechsler argued in favor of maintaining the competence and motivation of public officials rather than attempting to cut public costs by merging organizations in order to improve public sector efficiency. “As a Weberian, I am convinced that a well-organized administration and a well-prepared bureaucracy is an important feature for states to be successful,” he said.
Professor Drechsler was also asked about his opinion on what defines the modern public administration. He replied the following: “A key trend is the development of public sector performance indicators. However, the application of such short-term approaches will not change long-term outcomes, such as global economic crises. In my opinion, one of the most important performance indicators is nothing more than economic growth. Of course, this correlation is extremely difficult to prove, but perhaps it is no coincidence that the currently best-performing Asian countries all have a well-functioning public administration.”
