Hidden costs of cuts: austerity, civil service management and the motivation of public officials in Central and Eastern Europe after the crisis
The implementation of austerity measures presents a dilemma for governments. While austerity measures such as cutbacks aim to reduce costs and enhance public sector efficiency, the same measures might undermine the motivation of employees and, consequently, the prospects of effectively implementing...
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| Format: | Article |
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Europa Grande
2016
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/42296/ |
| _version_ | 1848796456019820544 |
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| author | Meyer-Sahling, Jan-Hinrik Janta, Barbara Reinholde, Iveta Van Stolk, Christian |
| author_facet | Meyer-Sahling, Jan-Hinrik Janta, Barbara Reinholde, Iveta Van Stolk, Christian |
| author_sort | Meyer-Sahling, Jan-Hinrik |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | The implementation of austerity measures presents a dilemma for governments. While austerity measures such as cutbacks aim to reduce costs and enhance public sector efficiency, the same measures might undermine the motivation of employees and, consequently, the prospects of effectively implementing austerity programmes. Based on a survey of ministerial officials in Poland and Latvia, this article finds that the scale of cutbacks explains a larger decline of staff motivation in Latvia than in Poland. The article further shows that motivation was more likely to decrease after the crisis if austerity measures involved cutbacks such as staff reductions, recruitment freezes, and a reduction of training opportunities. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:48:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-42296 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:48:16Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | Europa Grande |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-422962020-05-04T18:23:41Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/42296/ Hidden costs of cuts: austerity, civil service management and the motivation of public officials in Central and Eastern Europe after the crisis Meyer-Sahling, Jan-Hinrik Janta, Barbara Reinholde, Iveta Van Stolk, Christian The implementation of austerity measures presents a dilemma for governments. While austerity measures such as cutbacks aim to reduce costs and enhance public sector efficiency, the same measures might undermine the motivation of employees and, consequently, the prospects of effectively implementing austerity programmes. Based on a survey of ministerial officials in Poland and Latvia, this article finds that the scale of cutbacks explains a larger decline of staff motivation in Latvia than in Poland. The article further shows that motivation was more likely to decrease after the crisis if austerity measures involved cutbacks such as staff reductions, recruitment freezes, and a reduction of training opportunities. Europa Grande 2016-12-31 Article PeerReviewed Meyer-Sahling, Jan-Hinrik, Janta, Barbara, Reinholde, Iveta and Van Stolk, Christian (2016) Hidden costs of cuts: austerity, civil service management and the motivation of public officials in Central and Eastern Europe after the crisis. European Journal of Government and Economics, 5 (2). pp. 120-137. ISSN 2254-7088 Economic crisis; austerity; cutbacks; civil service reform; motivation; Central and Eastern Europe http://www.ejge.org/index.php/ejge/article/view/94 |
| spellingShingle | Economic crisis; austerity; cutbacks; civil service reform; motivation; Central and Eastern Europe Meyer-Sahling, Jan-Hinrik Janta, Barbara Reinholde, Iveta Van Stolk, Christian Hidden costs of cuts: austerity, civil service management and the motivation of public officials in Central and Eastern Europe after the crisis |
| title | Hidden costs of cuts: austerity, civil service management and the motivation of public officials in Central and Eastern Europe after the crisis |
| title_full | Hidden costs of cuts: austerity, civil service management and the motivation of public officials in Central and Eastern Europe after the crisis |
| title_fullStr | Hidden costs of cuts: austerity, civil service management and the motivation of public officials in Central and Eastern Europe after the crisis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Hidden costs of cuts: austerity, civil service management and the motivation of public officials in Central and Eastern Europe after the crisis |
| title_short | Hidden costs of cuts: austerity, civil service management and the motivation of public officials in Central and Eastern Europe after the crisis |
| title_sort | hidden costs of cuts: austerity, civil service management and the motivation of public officials in central and eastern europe after the crisis |
| topic | Economic crisis; austerity; cutbacks; civil service reform; motivation; Central and Eastern Europe |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/42296/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/42296/ |