Reply to Patrik Hall: Are Scandinavians Boring?

Irvine Lapsley is Director of IPSAR and Professor at University of Edinburgh Business School. His research interests are in public sector reforms He has published widely on this theme. He has undertaken research funded by a variety of sponsors. He is editor of Financial Accountability and Management He is Chair, Scientific Committee of the EIASM Public Sector conference; co-chair (with Marc Jegers and Bernd Helmig) of EIASM Third Sector research workshop and is co-chair (with Peter Miller) of the NPS seminar. He has been a budget advisor to the Scottish Parliament. He is Visiting Professor at the Universities of Lund, Politecnico di Milano, Queen`s University Belfast and NTNU.

Hans Knutsson is a senior lecturer at the Lund University School of Economics and Management. He has published articles on strategic management, benchmarking and competitive tendering, all relating to the public sector. Empirical issues of interest span social welfare reforms and public procurement with a special focus on local government and municipalities.