{"product_id":"the-guardian-2","title":"The Guardian","description":"\u003cp\u003eFinance departments have often been portrayed as guardians of the public purse. In \u003cem\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/em\u003e, a multidisciplinary group of contributors examines the Ministry of Finance of Ontario since the Second World War. During the last sixty years the Ministry was transformed from a relatively small 'Treasury' to a sophisticated policy machine. What started as a modest bookkeeping operation evolved into a key bureaucratic and policy agency as the government of Ontario assumed a leadership position in developing the province.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese essays reveal Ontario's 'finance' as a dynamic policy issue shaped by the personalities of premiers and ministers, the energies of public servants at all levels, and a critical dialogue between political and administrative worlds. Drawing on different methodologies, this collection profiles a ministry as policy entrepreneur, spender, revenue generator, capacity builder, budget director, program manager, and intergovernmental agent. \u003cem\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/em\u003e fills a significant gap in public administration literature and in so doing describes how Ontario's Ministry of Finance defined its role as 'guardian.'\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Edited by Patrice Dutil\u003c\/p\u003e","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53617693262204,"sku":"9781442694262","price":56.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0251\/4980\/0541\/files\/9781442694262.jpg?v=1731031072","url":"https:\/\/combined-academic.myshopify.com\/products\/the-guardian-2","provider":"Combined Academic Publishers - Mare Nostrum Group","version":"1.0","type":"link"}