Government-Imposed Reorganization and Public Service Turnaround: Quasi-Experimental Evidence from the Prison Sector in England and Wales

Theories of public service turnaround suggest that replacement of the management of public organizations is a potentially effective response to serious cases of performance failure. Using a quasi-experimental synthetic difference-in-difference approach, we investigate whether the UK government’s reorganization of the management of a large “failing” prison in England resulted in a successful turnaround in its performance. Our findings suggest that the prison experienced dramatic improvements in confinement conditions, safety and order after reorganization, potentially due to increased resource allocation. Documentary evidence indicates that the new prison management also achieved service improvements through the restoration of prison officers’ authority and better partnership-working with other public sector bodies.