MANAGEMENT-CONSULTANTS, THE STATE, AND THE POLITICS OF ADMINISTRATIVEREFORM IN BRITAIN AND CANADA

Recent contributions to the literature on bureaucratic reform suggest that profit-seeking consultants from the private sector are one of the main driving forces behind the global spread of New Public Management (NPM) ideas. But contrary to what is expected the growing role of con sultants in the construction of the ''post-bureaucratic stare'' in Bri tain and Canada did not lead to policy uniformity or convergence in th e acceptance of NPM ideas. To explain these differences, the article f ocuses on the ways in which the differential access of consultants to decision-making centers inside the state influenced the application of the business management ideas that they bring to the policy process.