It is now generally accepted that governance and political economy factors are key to the effective delivery of public goods and services in specific sectors. However, efforts to capitalise on this received wisdom are, in practice, hampered by the fact that governance and sector specialists tend to approach the key issue of mutual interest – the widespread failure of public services – from different starting points. While there is no doubt different specialisms have the potential to provide complementary insights, capitalising on this has, in many cases, been hindered by the different terminology, language and analytical approaches used.

This brief, the fourth in a series, aims to help bridge the gap between governance and sector specialists by examining the politics and governance of the health sector through a ‘sector characteristics’ lens.

 

Daniel Harris, Richard Batley and Joseph Wales