Don't Blame the Bureaucracy

Datos Bibliográficos

ID6297017
AutoresH Brinton Milward (0000-0002-0094-8470, University of Kentucky), Hal G Rainey (Florida State University)
Año1983
Volumen3
Número2
Páginas149-168
Fecha de publicación1983-05-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Public Policy (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0143-814X • E-ISSN: 1469-7815
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0143814x00006577
OpenAlexW2077414562
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas17
Referencias citadas11

Public agencies and public employees are increasingly berated as inept and inefficient. We argue that the public bureaucracy in the United States is more valuable and effective than generally recognized. Where public agencies do perform badly, the problem is often due to external factors. We discuss the oversimplified calls for more businesslike efficiency in government, the value complexity which complicates evaluation of the public bureaucracy, and the higher standards imposed on the public sector. We also discuss the challenges imposed on public agencies by special interest politics, an overload of highly complex assignments, and adverse public stereotypes. The danger of overlooking these issues is that we will continue to have a huge, active public sector, and decisions about its role and management must not be determined by oversimplification and stereotype

Blame · Bureaucracy · Business · Economics · Government (linguistics · Law and economics · New public management · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Public sector · Value (mathematics · Computer Science · Law · Public Administration · Public Policy and Administration Research