Offering a novel critique of Public Service Motivation (PSM), Christopher O'Leary examines the motivations behind public and third sector workers. The book reviews existing concepts and research on PSM, then delves into the rationales and goals of these workers. O'Leary proposes alternative theories to better understand the motivations driving individuals to engage in prosocial work, challenging conventional views and encouraging a reevaluation of what inspires service in the public sphere.
This compact, forcefully argued work calls Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Steven Pinker, and the rest of the so-called 'New Atheists' to account for failing to take seriously the historical record to which they so freely appeal when attacking religion.
As austerity measures have led to greater struggles over limited governmental funding, there has in recent years been increasing interest in Payment by Results, or Payment for Success, as a model for commissioning social services. A Social Impact Bond, or Pay for Success Bond, is a type of social service contract where the financing is provided by private entities, with the idea that this will unlock new capital investment and advance social good by limiting funding to projects that are needed and likely to succeed. This book looks at that assumption and evaluates the relatively limited current research on the effectiveness of the approach, making the case that more study is needed if investment of this sort is going to continue to grow.