Comparative Public Management Models: Morocco and the Trajectories of New Public Management

Abstract

Since the 1980s, New Public Management (NPM) has served as the reference framework for administrative reforms in OECD countries and later in many developing countries. Although the literature on NPM hybridization is extensive, there is, to our knowledge, no systematic comparative grid that positions Morocco's long-term trajectory (1990-2026) against pioneer countries using explicit dimensions and indicators. This article addresses the following question: how and why are NPM instruments translated and recombined in Morocco, a country with a Napoleonic tradition and constrained institutional capacities? The design is a qualitative comparative case study, exploratory and interpretive, based on a content analysis of a corpus of 75 documents (legal texts, institutional reports and peer-reviewed studies) closed in May 2026. Five trajectories (United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, France, Morocco) are coded along eight dimensions. The results show that Morocco adopted market instruments early (privatization from 1993, delegated management, sector regulation), followed by performance budgeting instruments (2001-2015), while limiting the actual managerial autonomy of public managers. The article proposes a two-axis typology (marketization and managerial autonomy), identifies three explanatory factors (path dependence, institutional capacities, external pressure) tested against competing explanations, and formulates sequencing recommendations.

JEL Code: H83

Paper type: Qualitative comparative case study based on documentary analysis (conceptual and exploratory research).