Belgium

Roger Depré and Annie Hondeghem

Chapter 4 in New Public Managers in Europe, 1996, pp 79-99 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract As in other European countries, the public sector in Belgium is undergoing rapid change. For some years, there has been pressure upon government to adapt and modernize. There are several reasons for this. First, Belgium has an enormous public debt: almost 10000 billion Belgium francs or 140 per cent of its gross national product (GNP). This debt is the result of unorthodox public spending in the past. In order to maintain the equilibria in Belgian society amongst linguistic, ideological and religious groups, a policy of compensation was carried out. If one group obtained something, other groups received an equivalent. In this way conflicts were avoided but at enormous economic cost. Pressure is now coming from the European Union and the Treaty of Maastricht to curb public expenditure and reduce the national debt.

Keywords: General Manager; Public Manager; Public Organization; Responsible Minister; Gross National Product (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1996
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palchp:978-1-349-13947-7_4

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DOI: 10.1007/978-1-349-13947-7_4

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