This book situates information technology at the centre of public policy and management. IT is now a vital part of any government organisation, opening new policy windows and enabling a vast range of tasks to be carried out faster and more efficiently. But it has also introduced new problems and challenges. Four in-depth case studies demonstrate how information systems have become inextricably linked with the core tasks of governmental organisations. The key government departments examined are:
* the Inland Revenue Service and Social Security Administration in the US
* the Inland Revenue and Benefits Agency in the UK

Helen Margetts is Lecturer in Politics at Birkbeck College, University of London.

Chapter 1 Computerising the Tools of Government?; Chapter 2 Innovation, Expenditure and Control; Chapter 3 Computerisation in the UK Benefits Agency; Chapter 4 Systems Modernisation in the US Social Security Administration; Chapter 5 Computerisation in the US Internal Revenue Service; Chapter 6 Computerisation in the UK Inland Revenue; Chapter 7 New Players; Chapter 8 The Ambiguous Essence of the State of the Future;