As with many other city needs, vehicle fleet management in the public sector shares commonalities across all cities.

FORBES: Zipcar's Tech is Saving City Governments Millions of Dollars

At the same time, he limited the presence of government in management of public sector services like enforcement of the law and maintaining public order.

FORBES: Why Wealthy Greeks Don't Want To Pay Taxes

Big management consultancies have done well too, despite their poor record in the public sector (see Schumpeter).

ECONOMIST: Professional-services firms

Various techniques have been adopted in a bid to increase efficiency in the public sector and reduce costs by transferring management control to profit-motivated private firms.

ECONOMIST: Japan

But top public-sector management jobs are probably more concentrated in the south-east than the rest of the country.

ECONOMIST: The pay is better than it was. The bureaucracy is worse

Lengthy periods of paid maternity leave can put firms off hiring women, which helps explain why most Swedish women work in the public sector and Sweden has a lower proportion of women in management than America does.

ECONOMIST: Women and work