Best value in transitional countries?

A feature common to many countries over the last thirty years has been that of radical change in the management of public services. In the United Kingdom, successive Conservative and Labour governments have implemented measures to bring about change in local government, including Labour's Best Value initiative. In documenting and evaluating the effect of such policies, however, the focus has largely been on developed economies and little emphasis has been placed on those countries which regained their independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union and which are now in transition from a planned to a market economy. One such transitional economy is Estonia. This article considers the changes taking place in Estonian local government. The research findings are based on a national questionnaire survey of the Heads of Estonian local authorities. The questionnaire was in part based on a key component of the Best Value framework and the results provide some evidence as to the changing nature of local government in the specific context of a rapidly evolving market economy.