Implementing Privatization Policies in ‘Next Steps’ Agencies
研究英国“下一步”机构中私有化政策的实施过程，分析制度变迁的约束因素及战略行动者如何克服这些约束，对公共管理学者和政策制定者有参考价值。
This article examines the implementation of privatization policies in two ‘Next Steps’ agencies. This is discussed with reference to the broader theoretical and empirical questions of how do institutions change and when are political actors constrained in implementing their policy choices. Cortell and Peterson’s framework for explaining institutional change, and the concept of intra‐state policy networks are used to analyse the cases. The differential outcomes identified illustrate how constraints operate and how these may be overcome by strategic actors to produce change. Constraints in these cases arose from fragmentation and dependence in central government, from differing institutionalized beliefs and from the development of intra‐state networks between the departments and agencies. The paper concludes by suggesting that the type of intra‐state networks created through agencification can be seen to have an effect on policy outcomes and are worthy of more detailed research.