Public Spirit in the Thrift Tragedy
Public Spirit in the Thrift Tragedy

Author: Mark Carl Rom

Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Pre

Published: 2010-11-23

Total Pages: 337

ISBN-13: 0822974835

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Winner of the Harold Lasswell Award of the American Political Science Association The FSFIC failed spectacularly during the 1980s, costing taxpayers an estimated $200 billion. In this award-winning analysis, Rom examines the political causes of this "thrift tragedy." He directly confronts-and rejects-the dominant scholarly "public choice" view that public officials were motivated mainly be self-interest. Instead, Rom argues that politicians and bureaucrats generally acted in the "public spirit" by attempting to obtain the common interest as they saw it. Using new evidence and innovative methods, Rom demonstrates that FSLIC's failure unfolded because of commitments that officials had made in the past and their uncertainties about how to fulfill these obligations in the future.

Racing to the Bottom?
Racing to the Bottom?

Author: Kathryn Harrison

Publisher: UBC Press

Published: 2011-11-01

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 0774841524

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The spectre of a "race to the bottom" is increasingly prominent in debates about globalization and also within federal systems where the mobility of both capital and individuals prompts fears of interjurisdictional competition with respect to taxes and environmental and welfare standards. While there has been no shortage of either political rhetoric or academic theorizing on this subject, empirical studies have been in shorter supply. This volume seeks to fill that gap by asking: Are Canadian provinces engaged in a race to the bottom and, if so, what are the consequences? It will be of interest to public policy practitioners, as well as to students and scholars of economics and political science.

Discharging Congress
Discharging Congress

Author: Colton C. Campbell

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2001-11-30

Total Pages: 210

ISBN-13: 0313073740

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The creation of temporary, independent advisory bodies that give advice to Congress, is an important yet under-investigated area of congressional delegation. With variations to fit the circumstances, lawmakers entrust commissions to accomplish diverse goals, such as coping with increases in the scope and complexity of legislation, forging consensus, drafting legislation, finessing institutional obstacles, coordinating strategy, and promoting party unity. Campbell investigates why and when Congress formulates policy by commissions rather than by the normal legislative process. He shows that many variables go into the decision to entrust those bodies to render non-partisan recommendations. According to lawmakers and their staff, the three primary justifications for choosing to delegate to commission include expertise, workload, and avoidance. Which of these three dominates depends in large part on the politics surrounding a particular issue and the nature of the policy problem. The logic of delegation to each of the three commission types is different. Which reason dominates depends in large part on the politics surrounding the issue and the nature of the legislative policy problem. Scholars, students, and other researchers involved with Congress, American government, and public policy will find the study of particular interest.

From Buildings and Loans to Bail-Outs
From Buildings and Loans to Bail-Outs

Author: David L. Mason

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2004-07-05

Total Pages: 363

ISBN-13: 1139453807

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For most Americans, the savings and loan industry is defined by the fraud, ineptitude and failures of the 1980s. However, these events overshadow a long history in which thrifts played a key role in helping thousands of households buy homes. First appearing in the 1830s savings and loans, then known as building and loans, encourage their working-class members to adhere to the principles of thrift and mutual co-operation as a way to achieve the 'American Dream' of home ownership. This book traces the development of this industry from its origins as a movement of a loosely affiliated collection of institutions into a major element of America's financial markets. It also analyses how diverse groups of Americans, including women, ethnic Americans and African Americans, used thrifts to improve their lives and elevate their positions in society. Finally the overall historical perspective sheds new light on the events of the 1980s and analyses the efforts to rehabilitate the industry in the 1990s.

Ethics in Public Management
Ethics in Public Management

Author: H George Frederickson

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-07-22

Total Pages: 399

ISBN-13: 131549776X

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The groundbreaking "Ethics in Public Administration" set the agenda for a decade's worth of research in the theory and practice of ethics in the public sector. This long-awaited follow-up volume represents the state of the art in research on administrative ethics. It features all new contributions by many of the leading figures in the field, and addresses both the managerial and individual/moral dimensions of ethical behavior as well as new challenges to administrative ethics posed by globalization. A detailed introduction, opening passage, and conclusion lend context to each of the book's four main sections. "Ethics in Public Management" is must reading for any graduate level course in public sector ethics.

What Motivates Bureaucrats?
What Motivates Bureaucrats?

Author: Marissa Martino Golden

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2000-11-01

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 9780231505048

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"Every once in a while somebody has to get the bureaucracy by the neck and shake it loose and say, 'Stop doing what you're doing.'" —Ronald Reagan How did senior career civil servants react to Ronald Reagan's attempt to redirect policy and increase presidential control over the bureaucracy? What issues molded their reactions? What motivates civil servants in general? How should they be managed and how do they affect federal policies? To answer these questions, Marissa Martino Golden offers us a glimpse into the world of our federal agencies. What Motivates Bureaucrats? tells the story of a group of upper-level career civil servants in the Reagan administration at the Environmental Protection Agency, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, the Food and Nutrition Service, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The book reveals that most career civil servants were usually responsive to executive direction—even with a president attempting to turn agency policy 180 degrees from its past orientation. By delving deeply into the particular details of Reagan's intervention into the affairs of upper-level career civil servants, Golden also fulfills her broader mission of improving our understanding of bureaucratic behavior in general, explaining why the bureaucracy is controllable and highlighting the limits of that control.

Regulation in the States
Regulation in the States

Author: Paul Teske

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2004-02-04

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13: 9780815796312

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Deregulation continues to be a hot-button issues in the United States. While the national debates rage, however, regulation at the state level still flies below the public's radar screen, although it is critically important. Paul Teske provides the foundation necessary to assess competing claims about state-level economic regulation in a time of turbulent politics and uncertain economics. He has produced an indespensable resource, offering both depth and breadth. Regulation in the States provides original quantitative analyses of state-level regulation across all the states in ten important sectors such as telecommunications, electricity, and professional licensing. Each section uses the same template for research and discussion, enabling cross-comparison among industries. Teske finds that commonly held fears of regulatory capture by industry are overblown, as are worries about an inevitable "race to the bottom." Legislatures and agencies still tend to base their policy decisions on their own ideologies and analysis. Teske also examines important exceptions, however, such as the case of occupational regulation. State-level regulation is neither inherently evil nor universally wise. The truth is somewhere in between, often found among the details. Nobody would argue it is perfect, however, and Teske assesses a wide range of possible reforms.

The Devil Is in the Details
The Devil Is in the Details

Author: Rachel VanSickle-Ward

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2014-01-01

Total Pages: 245

ISBN-13: 1438449240

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The level of detail in a given law can have dramatic consequences for how that law is interpreted and applied. In The Devil Is in the Details, Rachel VanSickle-Ward focuses on the dynamics of social policy construction in the United States in order to better understand why the wording of legislation can range from the specific to the ambiguous. When policies are high salience, the fissures produced by partisan discord, interest group diversity, and pluralistic executive branches promote ambiguous policy. When policies are lower profile, this relationship is more tenuous and, at times, inverted, with contention producing more policy detail. Put simply, on important and controversial legislation, ambiguity serves as a vehicle for compromise when key participants disagree over details. Moreover, fragmentation is a more powerful driver of ambiguity than limits in technical expertise or legislative capacity. This multi-method investigation is the first to measure statute specificity directly. VanSickle-Ward combines comprehensive content analysis of more than 250 health and welfare bills passed in 44 states in the 1990s and 2000s with in-depth interviews of policy-making elites.

The Policy Partnership
The Policy Partnership

Author: Bruce Buchanan

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 156

ISBN-13: 9780415947602

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First Published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Economics, Politics, and American Public Policy
Economics, Politics, and American Public Policy

Author: James J. Gosling

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-01-28

Total Pages: 303

ISBN-13: 131747239X

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This text introduces students to the interrelationship of politics and economics in American public policymaking: how economic concerns have been legislated into law since Franklin Roosevelt's time and how politics (e.g., Washington gridlock) affects the economy and the making of public policy. Students learn how to measure various indicators of economic performance, how the U.S. economy works (domestically and with international linkages), and how and why policymakers act to stabilise an economy in an economic downturn. Additionally, many social insurance programs (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid) are explained and the current fiscal issues concerning current/future costs are treated in some detail. The book concludes with a full chapter case study on the Obama administration's response to the Great Recession and its dealings with Congress; the implementation of the Affordable Care Act is also discussed.