Overview of countries' reform initiatives

Over the last thirty years, public sector reforms have focused on making government more responsible and accountable for results. More recently, and particularly following the economic and financial crisis, governments are also coping with questions of legitimacy, where levels of confidence in public institutions are clear indicators of challenges and the perception of the capacity of the public sector to solve problems (or not) is under pressure. Further to the crisis many public sectors took on expanded responsibilities, with governments often having to deal with the cost of financial failures. Exclusion and increasing gaps within societies for access to services and policies such as the labour market, justice, health, and education are also putting pressure on governments to deliver inclusive outcomes. Increased unemployment, particularly among younger generations in a number of countries, has created a debate on who benefits from growth. The realisation that, in some countries, the benefits of growth may have been captured by the very few – with little general improvement in overall living standards – is focusing government attention on delivering inclusive growth (OECD, 2015a).