Samenvatting

In several countries the number of semi-autonomous agencies is under attack. The Dutch government has also presented plans to reduce the number of so-called ZBOs (zelfstandige bestuursorganen). But do public organizations like ZBOs actually die? Using population ecology theory we formulate a number of hypotheses on the survival and reform of ZBOs. These hypotheses are tested using secondary data on the number of ZBOs in The Netherlands in the past two decades. Results show that the absolute number of ZBOs has increased rather than decreased. Only seldom does a ZBO die. But ZBOs do experience many changes during their lifetime, such as mergers. The politicians’ plans seem targeted at improving their overview of all ZBOs. Whether the implementation of the plans will lead to that remains to be seen. Experiences in other countries do not confirm these expectations so far.