A Systematic Review of Field Experiments in Public Administration

Field experiments have become popular in public administration. By allowing for the identification of causal effects in realistic settings, field experiments may become central in several research agendas of relevance to the field. Conducting field experiments is difficult and problems often occur along the way. However, researchers new to the method have few resources in public administration to consider the problems that arise when conducting field experiments. This systematic review identifies 42 field experiments in public administration and serves as an introduction to field experiments in public administration. The article discusses how field experiments developed over time and highlights trends in field experimentation in public administration. It then discusses issues to consider when designing field experiments. Among these are costs, practicality, ethics, and validity. Finally, the authors suggest a future research agenda for public administration field experiments.     

Power in Editorial Positions: A Feminist Critique of Public Administration

Journal editors serve a vital, powerful role in academic fields. They set research priorities, serve as gatekeepers for research, play a critical role in advancing junior scholars as reviewers and eventually into editorial roles, build extensive networks, and gain valuable insight into the behavior and preferences of reviewers and scholars. This article analyzes data collected from leading public administration journals in 2017 to investigate the role of women as gatekeepers of public administration knowledge. The data illustrate a clear underrepresentation of women on editorial boards. Drawing from these data, research on journal editorships, and feminist theory, the authors present a critique of the current state of public administration research and a discussion of a way forward. They conclude with a proposal for how all public administration scholars (junior, senior, men, and women), journal leadership, and academic departments can move toward increasing women's representation in these important positions.     

公共管理学科前沿与发展趋势

公共管理学科领域经历和正在发生着的变化及其趋势至少主要表现在五个互相承续的方面。一是新公共管理在理论上和政府再造实践上的并行所形成的强烈的管理主义取向;二是公共组织理论与公共治理理论共同凸显为公共管理两大支柱理论;三是政府治理模式与政治角色定位这两个层次问题的契合;四是管理学范式与政治学范式在分野基础之上的整合;五是紧贴政府问题的事实关注与价值判断的结合。这些方面的变化使得与之相关的理论与实践问题被推到公共管理学科发展的前沿。其发展趋势正逐步趋向于:公共价值判断下的管理科学取向;公共治理框架内的组织理论创新;公共行政的宪法捍卫者前提下的公共行政执行者的角色定位;作为政治科学的公共行政与作为管理科学的公共行政双重身份的整合;公共行政研究者强烈使命感与社会责任感驱动下的公共管理学的学术发展。     

Comparative public adminstration: The United States view in international perspective

In the study of comparative public administration in the United States, there are currently four directions of development associated with bureaucratic and policy models, case and component approaches, the comparative study of organizations, and application. The characteristics of these developments are outlined in this article, recent publications surveyed and future trends discussed. The extent to which there is a peculiarly American or Western tradition in the comparative study of administration is considered and issue is taken with the argument presented by Dwivedi and Nef (1982) for greater autonomy.     

公共行政道德化的双重向度

公共行政道德化问题是当代公共行政研究中的一个极其重要的问题,也是行政改革和构建新型公共行政模式的一个重要突破口.公共行政的道德化包括两个向度:其一是公共行政的制度和体制的道德化,即在制度安排中有着道德化的合理规范,包含着道德实现的保障机制,同时,已经确立的制度又是有利于道德因素的生成和成长,能够对行政人员的道德修养的提高有着鼓励的作用;其二是行政人员的道德化,要求行政人员以道德主体的面目出现,在他的行政行为中从道德的原则出发,贯穿着道德精神,时时处处坚持道德的价值取向,公正地处理行政人员与政府的关系、与同事的关系和与公众之间的关系.没有制度的道德化,行政人员个体的道德是不稳定的;但是,如果没有行政人员的道德化,那么制度的道德就会成为空洞的教条.     

The Present and (Normative) Future of Public Administration and Implications for ASPA

ASPA's future is intertwined with institutional trends in public administration, shaped especially by the directions of today's network governance. The implications for the future of ASPA and of other public administration professional associations are significant. In the author's view, ASPA must hold on to its unique generalist niche, but she counsels that ASPA should pay closer attention to advancing democratic and social equity issues throughout government.     

Development problems and planning in a resource-poor Pacific country: The case of Tuvalu

Tuvalu is an independent microstate and this account of its economic circumstances and prospects provides the context for discussion of administrative problems. The paper outlines the economic structure of the country and examines its economic resources and their potential; demographic trends are given attention, and the country's heavy dependence on foreign aid is explained. These features carry implications for the forms of public administration and development planning, and Tuvalu's current development plan and aspects of its public administration are discussed with this in mind. The article serves as a case study of the economy of a micro state and implications for administration in such a state.     

Introduction: The Future of British Political History

Politics and history are closely intertwined and historians play a vital role in British public life. Yet, British political history, which has a critical contribution to make for understanding British politics today, faces two urgent challenges. First, academic history has retreated from subjects that remain hugely popular in media and trade publishing and of interest to social scientists, such as the histories of political institutions and formal power structures. Second, political history is disconnected from innovative trends in the wider historiography of modern Britain. Combined, these issues leave political historians in an ambiguous position in relation to the wider field, to other academic disciplines and to contemporary political debates. After discussing these challenges, this introduction surveys this special issue, which reflects on what (if anything) is distinctive about political history as practised today, and what its contribution to historiography, social science and public life should be. It ends by posing key questions for historians of all methodological stripes who investigate Britain's political past.     

公共管理视角下的中国危机管理研究——现状、趋势和未来方向

中国近年来社会科学视角的危机管理研究已进入瓶颈期。本文旨在梳理这十年来公共管理视角下的危机管理相关研究,以期为危机管理研究进一步深入发展提供参考。评述文献主要来源于公共管理、政治学、管理学和综合社会科学领域的重要学术期刊以及依据专业知识所选取的近些年来具有代表性的研究专著和报告。在对文献进行分类、编码和统计分析之后,分析结果表明:危机事前分析的文章占据主导地位,而对危机应对过程和危机后分析相对不足;应然研究类文章占据很大比重,但对于危机理论的建构和实证检验的研究比较缺乏;对于危机的综合分析多于单灾种分析。近些年中,虽然上述研究方式依然居于主导地位,但是研究者开始关注危机后的分析,注意理论的建构和检验,特别值得注意的是对于社会安全事件的分析呈上升趋势。最后,本文结合危机管理研究的现状和趋势总结出未来值得研究的若干领域。     

Governing Small‐Town America Today: The Promise and Dilemma of Dense Networks

This essay examines the governance of small towns in the United States. Small towns have received little attention in the public administration literature to date, yet 1 in 10 Americans still lives in one, representing roughly 75 percent of all municipalities in the United States and some 33 million people. Small towns are characterized as dense, multiplex networks that lend unique dynamics to local politics. However, they face significant social, economic, technological, and demographic trends that compromise towns’ prevailing frame of reference, fracture their networks, and alter the traditional setting of small‐town governance. In the face of these issues, “thicker,” more active ways of engaging the public are needed to reknit community bonds and build civic capacity. Service learning for master of public administration students is proposed as a way to develop the emotional intelligence necessary to make sense of the complex social dynamics of small towns and to facilitate the hard work of building enabling relationships.     

Do Rules Breed Rules? Vertical Rule-Making Cascades at the Supranational,National, and Organizational Level

Understanding where (ineffective) organizational rules come from is of vital importance for both public administration scholars and practitioners. Yet little is known about the underlying mechanisms that explain why external rules may cause organizational rule breeding and, as a by-product, red tape. Using a combination of archival and interview data, the authors empirically study rule-breeding processes in the case of Gasunie, which is a heavily regulated Dutch gas transport organization. The archival findings indicate that rule stocks have increased substantially over time at every policy level. Furthermore, the interview data support the notion that policymakers at different levels are jointly responsible for excessive rule breeding and, ultimately, organizational red tape.     

HEALTH-CARE REFORM UNDER PRESIDENT CLINTON: ISSUES,IDEAS AND IMPLICATIONS

Abstract: President Clinton's proposals to reform health-care in the United States have stimulated unprecedented levels of discussion amongst stakeholders, commentators, policy analysts and the media. It seems obvious that there is a need to reform a system that consumes 14% of gross domestic product, yields only OECD-average morbidity and mortality rates and fails to provide coverage to millions of people. Nevertheless, forces against change are marshalling considerable resources in opposition to Clinton's proposals, and now that the November 1994 mid-term elections have routed the democrats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, the belief is that his reforms will never be adopted in their original format. Some of the issues and ideas emanating from the American debate parallel trends in Australian health-care. Elements in transition include the switch from an input-to an outcomes-orientation, improving the quality of care, focusing on the customer and securing greater value-for-money. Unlike America, Australia has a limit on national health-care spending and this poses different challenges. However, the American debate is of vital interest to Australia. Australian and American hospitals are increasingly in competition to export services to South-East Asia. Of particular importance to Australia are: the extremely public nature of the American debate, which should be emulated, the fact that explicit rationing is now clearly on the international health-care agenda, the need to reconceptualise western culture's preoccupation with immortality, the need to alter economic incentives to health-care providers and the shift to outcomes measurement and effectiveness. Despite the comparatively healthy state of the Australian system, complacency should not be allowed to set in. Lessons for Australia from America are numerous, and it behoves us to monitor closely developments, trends and options arising from the Clinton-inspired debate.     

The Effects of Administrative Professionals on Contracting Out

An often-debated subject in the public administration literature concerns why some units contract out more than others. The present article decomposes the influence of public employees on municipal contracting as different types of employees have different skills and incentives and must be treated accordingly. First, the analysis shows that the apparent negative relationship between public employees in general and municipal contracting is partly reflecting the fact that the number of public employees is endogenous to contracting. Second, we suggest that administrative professionals and not bureaucrats in general have a positive impact on contracting. This is because administrative professional skills are vital for carrying out a tender and because contracting is essentially a part of administrative professionals' bureau-shaping interests. Finally, we find support for two often-discussed claims in the literature, namely, the influence of prosperity and ideology.     

当代公共管理研究的范式观--一项经验研究

以经验事实为依据,勾画出了指导当代美国公共管理研究的范式观.在经验分析的基础上,作者认为,有关公共管理领域是否具有知识核心及其与学科的发展之间的相关性的争论正越来越不重要,因为答案已经显现.重要的是从事公共管理研究的学者应具有清醒的学科自我意识以及对现有的范式有更为清晰的把握.公共管理学科对本领域的常规科学研究活动的自觉意识能够给本学科提供更为清晰的研究焦点,能够提升澄清谬见的敏锐性,进而推动公共管理理论的发展.     

Particularism versus Universalism in the Brazilian Public Administration Literature

The author draws on the Brazilian public administration literature to discuss the conflict between the need to remain open to lessons from elsewhere, while at the same time remaining grounded in a particular local context. The article begins by presenting calls by a number of Brazilian public administration scholars for what might be termed an "administrative particularism," or an assertion that universal lessons do not apply in the discipline. This is followed by a discussion of the challenges that these and other Brazilian public administration scholars identify. Further discussion will suggest these challenges, and many of the solutions most commonly offered for them, imply that, far from a uniquely Brazilian public administration, the country seeks to move closer to the model of public administration practiced elsewhere, especially in the developed world.     

The Marketization of the Nonprofit Sector: Civil Society at Risk?

The public sector has increasingly adopted the methods and values of the market to guide policy creation and management. Several public administration scholars in the United States have pointed out the problems with this, especially in relation to the impact on democracy and citizenship. Similarly, nonprofit organizations are adopting the approaches and values of the private market, which may harm democracy and citizenship because of its impact on nonprofit organizations' ability to create and maintain a strong civil society. This article reviews the major marketization trends occurring within the nonprofit sector—commercial revenue generation, contract competition, the influence of new and emerging donors, and social entrepreneurship—and surveys research on their potential impact on nonprofit organizations' contributions to civil society. The article ends with a discussion of the significance of marketization in the nonprofit sector for public administration scholars and public managers.     

Budgeting in Ghana: Innovations, Problems, and Prospects

Systematic development has been a high priority of Ghanaian leaders, particularly since Independence. The impetus for this national objective has been recent budgetary innovations aimed at far-reaching implications for a healthy national economy, including meaningful development. This article evaluates these innovations with a view to finding out the extent to which such forces of innovation have improved overall public financial administration, as well as the masses' living conditions via development. Finally, the results of these innovations and the lessons learned are summarized.     

Defining Asia Capabilities for Australia's Public Service

Twenty‐three years ago, questions posed in this journal asked whether and how the Australian public service was prepared to engage effectively in Asia. More recent meta‐analyses of public policy scholarship suggest that Western policy scholars and administrators continue to pay limited attention to Asian policymaking, despite the rise of Asia in the 21st century. This article contributes a research‐derived Asia capabilities framework for Australia's public service, distilled from a qualitative study with public administration leaders at Commonwealth, state, and local government levels. It taps scholarly literature in ‘cultural intelligence’, global leadership competencies, and training to provide a robust conceptual underpinning for the framework. The framework defines the knowledge, skills, capabilities, and experiences vital for Australia's public service to engage effectively with the region in a rapidly changing policy environment.     

What Do We Talk About? Publications in AJPA 1970–95

This survey looks at three key aspects of the AJPA — who publishes, what they talk about and how they approach their subject. The findings suggest a continuing responsiveness to trends in public administration and a broad inclusive definition of the field.