Public management policymaking in Spain, 1982-1996: Policy entrepreneurship and (in)opportunity windows

This article deals with the topic of stability and change in public management policy. Over the last two decades, substantial change has occurred in public management-policy in many countries, leading to the emergence of similarities and differences in public management policy outcomes. The article aims to contribute to the comparative analysis of public management policy change by studying the case of Spain, where no comprehensive public management policy change occurred. Its task is to explain why few changes took place in public management policy in Spain's central government between 1982 and 1996, when several factors - such as active policy entrepreneurs in central agencies - could have led to a different outcome. By using historical evidence within a policymaking process analytical framework, the Spain case may help identify the factors that affect administrative reform, not only in the Iberian family of nations, but also in a European context. Copyright © 2003 by Information Age Publishing, Inc.