The Public Administration Theory Primer

✍ Scribed by H. George Frederickson, Kevin B. Smith, Christopher W. Larimer, Michael J. Licari

• Publisher: Westview Press
• Year: 2011
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 321
• Edition: Second Edition, Second Edition
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

The Public Administration Theory Primer explores how the science and art of public administration is definable, describable, replicable, and cumulative. The authors describe several theories and analytical approaches that contribute to what we know about policy administration and consider which are the most promising, influential, and important—both now and for the future.  The extensively updated second edition includes the latest directions and developments in public administration theory. These include the rise of reporting as a means to hold bureaucracy accountable, the continuing evolution of the “hollow state” or “shadow bureaucracy” and the rise of network theory, and new psychological and biological behavioral research with important implications for decision theory and rational choice. The contributions of nearly a decade’s worth of new research are woven into all the chapters, in some cases altering conclusions about the health and robustness of certain popular conceptual frameworks.

✦ Table of Contents

Contents......Page 6
Preface......Page 8
1 Introduction:The Possibilities of Theory......Page 10
2 Theories of Political Control of Bureaucracy......Page 24
3 Theories of Bureaucratic Politics......Page 50
4 Public Institutional Theory......Page 76
5 Theories of Public Management......Page 106
6 Postmodern Theory......Page 140
7 Decision Theory......Page 174
8 Rational Choice Theory and Irrational Behavior......Page 202
9 Theories of Governance......Page 228
10 Conclusion: A BrightFuture for Theory?......Page 254
References......Page 276
Index......Page 300