JON PIERRE is Professor of Political Science at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and Adjunct Professor at the University of Pittsburgh, USA. He previously held a Chair in Politics at the University of Strathclyde. He is author or editor of fifteen books are a large number of journal articles.B. GUY PETERS is Maurice Falk Professor of American Government at the University of Pittsburgh, Research Fellow at the Institute of Public Management at the Catholic University of Leuven, and Senior Fellow of the Canadian Centre for Management Development. He is author or editor of over 50 books in comparative politics, public administration and public policy.