Patterns of Canadian departmental survival

Abstract

Assertions have been made about the immortality of public-sector organizations and the need for higher rates of termination of public-sector organizations. Research on the American federal government argued that such organizations had mortality rates lower than private-sector organizations. Better research demonstrated that the mortality of public-sector organizations has occurred at the highest rates observed in the private sector, where rates could be expected to be high because most organizations were very small. Mostly large public-sector organizations were examined in the U.S. – they should have had low mortality rates. What is the situation in Canada? How does Canadian survival of public-sector organizations compare to that in other sectors and other countries? This article compares the survival and mortality rates of Canadian public-sector organizations to those of the private sector and the non-profit sector. It also compares Canadian public-sector organizations to those in Ireland and the U.S., finding that Canadian federal organizations have not been immortal and that their mortality rates are among the highest detected. The pattern of Canadian public-sector organization terminations is punctuated equilibrium.

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