Public Administration Review articles from March 1997

Public Administration Review archives from March 1997

Realism and public administration.(Editorial)
March 1, 1997... Support of a political system of constitutional democracy that works has been an enduring purpose of American public administration. Politics is a central reality of the field, connected with decades-long struggles to elevate ideals of...

Reflecting on reform and the scope of public administration.(Editorial)
March 1, 1997... During the 1996 State of the Union address, President Clinton announced the end of the era of big government. Legislators from both sides of the political aisle leapt to their feet in celebration. Pundits, and lesser forms of commentators,...

The federal line-item veto: what is it and what will it do?
March 1, 1997... Presidents since Ulysses S. Grant have desired line-item veto authority, but President Clinton became the first to acquire it when the Line Item Veto Act (P.L. 104-130) took effect on January 1, 1997. This legislation established, for an...

Dealing with cynical citizens.
March 1, 1997... Widespread concern exists about public cynicism toward government (Gore, 1994; Dubnick and Rosenbloom, 1995; Greider, 1992; Lipset and Schneider, 1987; Ruscio, 1995; Cisneros and Parr, 1990). Manifestations of public cynicism include pervasive...

Optimizing JOBS: evaluation versus administration. (Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program)
March 1, 1997... The nation has been reforming welfare for over 30 years. "Welfare" here means Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), the principal federal-state family assistance program. AFDC has been controversial since the late 1960s and early 1970s,...

Public deliberation: an alternative approach to crafting policy and setting direction.
March 1, 1997... General managers face two basic challenges in leading and managing their public bureaus. They are expected to strive for both organizational efficiency and organizational effectiveness. Webster's Third (1971, 725) defines efficiency as the...

A quarter century of state budgeting practices.
March 1, 1997... In this article, I examine trends in state budgeting practices that have developed over the last quarter century and particularly those changes that have materialized between 1990 and 1995. One would expect state budgeting practices in 1995 to be...

The pitfalls of political decentralization and proposals for reform: the case of New York City public schools.
March 1, 1997... A powerful movement toward government devolution is underway in the nation. Frustrated with the limitations and inefficiencies of big bureaucracy, a growing chorus of reformers from different ideological backgrounds calls for the loosening of...

Intergovernmental relations and federalism in environmental management and policy: the role of the courts.
March 1, 1997... Although the issue of intergovernmental relations has occupied a position of central importance in public administration, federalism policy has only episodically been addressed as an issue of national importance by Congress and the president. At...

Representation in government boards and commissions.
March 1, 1997... In the Progressive Era of the early 1900s the idea of placing boards and commissions in charge of public-sector activities was conceived by reform-minded Citizens as a way to improve policy making and administration. Although boards and...

How structural conflicts stymie reinvention. (public administration)
March 1, 1997... Government is in the throes of reinvention. Managers proceed through results-based strategic planning, "vision" processes, and other such means to identify innovative ways to provide services. Then they attempt to implement the plans. Often,...

The Language of Public Administration: Bureaucracy, Modernity and Post-Modernity.
March 1, 1997... Charles F. Fox and Hugh T. Miller, (University of Alabama Press, 1995) 314 pp. $29.95 paper. While the external legitimacy problem -- the question of how to theorize bureaucracy as a legitimate part of democracy -- has occupied the greatest...

Postmodern Public Administration: Toward Discourse.
March 1, 1997... David John Farmer, (Sage Publications, 1994) 192 pp. $42 cloth, $18.50 paper. While the external legitimacy problem -- the question of how to theorize bureaucracy as a legitimate part of democracy -- has occupied the greatest attention of...

The Australian government's Industry Commission examines competitive tendering and contracting by public sector agencies.
March 1, 1997... With a vigorous debate emerging on when and how competitive tendering and contracting should be used by the public sector, the Australian government asked its Industry Commission to examine these issues. The commission is the government's...