Courses

In Japan and many other countries, private companies are engaged in providing public services such as trash collection, cleaning services for public buildings, and counter services at city halls. In addition, several services including bus services are provided by both governments and private companies separately in some cities. Although the purpose and role of governments and private companies are different, how can we understand the role of private companies in public services? We need to understand what public services can be contracted out to private companies, what public services are more appropriately provided by government officials, and also what services can be provided through public-private cooperation.

It is quite easy for us to know annual performance of a company based on financial statements. For example, we can understand how much profit a company made in 2024 by analyzing its profit and loss statement. However, how can we know annual performance of government activities? Different from private companies, national and local governments are carrying out their activities not for the purpose of making profits but for the purpose of improving the welfare of the people. Therefore, we need to comprehend the concept and reality of measuring the performance of government activities in order to understand the annual performance of a government.

In this course, the theories, concepts, real-life examples of government efforts, and issues regarding public management in Japan and other countries, including the above matters will be explained and analyzed.