Austerity management in local governments, between budget rebalancing and renewed performance: A lexicometric study
For almost a decade, the effects of the financial crisis have been felt in local governments. Facing this constrained context, saving programs have been implemented. Several researches consider that this austerity context changes the underlying paradigm of public action. This research explores this issue by analyzing the way managers conceive austerity management. A quantitative study of textual data is conducted. We identify four types of austerity thinking based on two dimensions related to the orientation and the nature of the thinking. These results show that austerity management reflects a rebirth of NPM rather than a new paradigm for public action.