Squaring the public policy circle: managing a mismatch between demands and resources

Conflict between rising demands and pressure for cut-backs has been a feature of public policy debate for at least 30 years, but although new ways of addressing this problem have been developed, none have been wholly successful. The strategies introduced include shifting responsibility from government to the individual, the private or the voluntary sector for various areas of provision; innovative and stricter management of state provision; and attempts to change people’s behaviour to reduce demands. 

Peter Taylor-Gooby argues that the current insistence of pressures to cut back highly valued services risks a further decline of trust in politicians. At the same time, these difficulties do offer an opportunity to open up an important and informed debate about how they can be tackled.