The Science of Public Administration: Problems,Presumptions, Progress,and Possibilities

Nearly 70 years ago, Dahl noted the difficulty of constructing a science of public administration that was plagued by three interrelated problems: values, behavior, and culture. Underlying all three problems was the presumption that public administration could establish a set of universal principles independent of moral or political ends, individual human differences, or social influences. In discussing these three broad and easily accessible themes, Dahl did more than identify and critique the field's problems and presumptions. He also provided a road map to move the field forward and establish a science of public administration. Drawing on the framework provided by Dahl, this article argues that the field has made considerable progress in recognizing, if not addressing, each problem raised by Dahl. Even so, several current presumptions or omissions are also identified that, if challenged, can provide additional possibilities to advance the science of public administration.     

公共利益、公共交易和公共政策——由“定海古城被毁事件”谈开去

从公共政策和公共利益的关系出发,讨论“定海古城被毁”事件,认为公共政策并不必然地反映公共利益。“定海古城被毁”事件实际上可能是一起代表部分政府官员利益的政府部门利益通过公共政策的方式以政府利益和人民利益的不正当名义严重侵害公共利益的事件。由此,提出保证公共政策有效地维护、增进公共利益的公共交易机制。     

直面公共行政的思想危机和能力挑战——国际行政科学学会第28届大会观点综述

2010年7月,第28届国际行政科学大会在印度尼西亚巴厘岛召开,主题是新形势下的公共行政:限制性、创新性和持续性。共有来自64个国家和地区的450名代表出席会议,其中有70多名代表在各种类型的会议上作了专题发言。这次会议的基本特点是:亚洲学者与官员参与程度高,政府职责、能力与治理模式是研讨重点,实证研究成果是主体,更为关注国际比较,公共行政实践领域与理论研究领域的互动明显。会议主要观点是:政府角色需要重新定位,民营化需要重新评估,公众回应性需要进一步强化,政府职能与能力需要重构。各国公共行政改革的实践经验与教训是:权力的合理有效行使是权力下放的必要条件,技术创新是提高公共部门绩效的有效途径,政府能力建设是提升公共行政质量的基础保障。对我国行政改革的启示是:深入研究行政改革理论,兼顾效率和公平,加强政府职能配置与治理结构建设,关注行政方式的优化和加强公务员能力建设。     

Representation and Inclusion in Public Organizations: Evidence from the U.K. Civil Service

Theories of workforce diversity in the public sector assume that organizations that are more representative of the population they serve are more likely to foster an inclusive work climate in which individuals from different sections of society can thrive. The authors examine this assumption by studying whether gender and minority ethnic representativeness are related to perceptions of inclusiveness and the experience of discrimination and bullying within U.K. civil service organizations. Findings suggest that gender representativeness and minority ethnic representativeness are both associated with an inclusive work climate, with each aspect of representativeness positively related to higher perceptions of inclusion and lower levels of discrimination and bullying. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.     

公共管理学的法律途径及教育整合研究

管理主义日益凸显的唯效率造成的公平价值和公共性的缺失，以及社会和公共管理学自身的日益成长，都促使和呼唤公共管理学法律途径研究及教育的兴起和发展。本文力图论证公共管理法律途径的重要性和可行性，阐明公共管理法律途径的主要内容及研究进路，并对优化公共管理教育结构、重新定位不同层次公共管理教育目标、合理整合公共管理教育与法律学教育资源的问题提出了自己的看法。     

Organizational Reputation and Jurisdictional Claims: The Case of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

When do regulatory agencies expand, following the emergence of novel technologies? This article presents a verbal model that suggests that a regulator is most likely to announce that it has statutory authority to regulate a novel technology when its reputation is at stake. This is most likely to occur when (1) new information becomes available to the regulator regarding the seriousness of the anticipated harm of a novel technology, or (2) a rival regulator attempts to formalize its regulatory authority or fails to do so although officially required to. A historical–institutional analysis of the temporal process leading to jurisdictional claims by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration over gene therapy, laboratory‐developed complex diagnostic tests, human tissue transplants, and human cloning supports the model's prediction.     

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。     

Theory and Methods in British Public Administration: the view from Political Science

This paper explores the contemporary history of that area of intellectual inquiry known as Public Administration. It focuses on developments in the 1980s and on the contribution of political science. It argues that the subject is diverse and characterized by competing theoretical frameworks. It evaluates organization theory, state theory, rational choice, public management and their associated methods. It concludes that Public Administration has reacted defensively to developments in the 1980s and that the distinctive contribution from political science lies in multi-theoretic research, methodological pluralism, setting one's own agenda, the avoidance of trivial organizations and the defence of public bureaucracies.     

Political Science and Public Administration: The Saga of a Difficult Relationship

This paper is based on 'The perennial ugly duckling — public sector education in tertiary institutions before and after Coombs', an invited contribution on management education delivered at the Sydney Academics Symposium on the Coombs Commission in Retrospect, IPAA National Conference, 28 November 2001.     

Trends in the Study of Public Administration: Empirical and Qualitative Observations from Public Administration Review, 2000–2009

What are the apparent research and methodological trends in PAR’s content over the past decade? From the perspective of the journal’s 70‐year history, with its aim to “mesh” practitioner and academic knowledge creation, topical coverage since 2000 reflects striking continuity, emphasizing many of the “bread and butter” administrative issues such as planning, human resources, budgeting, and public management. A marked increase in coverage is apparent in the application of more sophisticated quantitative statistical methodology, as well as in the number of female authors, while the number of practitioner authors declined sharply. Throughout the first turbulent decade of the twenty‐first century, three intellectual themes stood out: evaluations of New Public Management, connections between practitioners and academicians, and responsiveness to immediate social, economic, and political challenges. Given the constant demand for usable knowledge, scholars seem to have marginalized attention to the historical context and epistemological foundations of the study. The central challenge in the years ahead will be to effectively use research methods in response to the big questions of government and society that defy measurement. Since many [empiricists], especially the younger, do not know very much about epistemology, they tend to be quite dogmatic about the one set of canons that dominate them. —C. Wright Mills, 1959     

Partnership in Economic Development: The Case of U.K. Local Enterprise Agencies

The rapid development of local enterprise agencies in Britain in the 1980s has been an important focus for the increasing involvement of the private sector in economic development. These agencies present themselves as locally oriented partnerships and the paper draws on evidence from a recent survey, undertaken by the author in Greater London, to show what partnership can mean in practice. A particular focus is the relation between enterprise agencies and local authorities. This leads to a discussion of some of the policy issues arising from the development of these agencies which is part of a wider growth of the non-elected state in Britain through the decade. It is argued that their development raises important questions concerning their lack of local democratic accountability.     

案例研究概推性的理论逻辑与评价体系——基于公共管理案例研究样本论文的实证分析

案例研究是公共管理研究者运用的一种主要研究方法,但却常常被认为科学性不强。其面临的一项主要指责是案例研究的结果缺乏概推性,即源自一个或少数几个案例研究的结果缺乏普遍意义。本文首先梳理既有案例研究方法论文献对该项挑战的理论回应,分析案例研究结果概推性论述中的三种主要理论逻辑:"自然主义式概推"、"分析概推"和"非正式经验概推"。在借鉴现有理论的基础上,提出一个评价体系,以全面评估案例研究者在处理概推性问题上的严谨性。该体系的三个要素是:研究者"运用案例研究的目的"、"选择案例的理由"及"对案例研究结果适用范围的界定"。在分析上述三要素及其相互关系的基础上,设计出具体的评价指标。然后以发表于五种国际一流公共管理学术期刊上的142篇运用案例研究方法的论文为样本,实证分析公共管理案例研究者在应对概推性难题上的实践。结果表明:在所有样本论文中,八成以上以"一般化"研究为目的,四成以上明确说明了案例选择的理由,三分之一以上采用多案例设计,约四分之一说明了影响案例研究结果适用范围的因素。将2005—2009年样本论文与2000—2004年相比,公共管理案例研究者在处理概推性问题上的严谨程度显著提高,明确说明案例选择理由、采用多案例设计及以"一般化"研究为目的的论文比重大幅上升。最后在讨论实证结果的基础上提出拓展案例研究结果概推性的研究策略。     

宪政理念与公共行政整合之理论探讨

自人类有宪政以来,宪政的发展就是与公共行政的历史发展交织在一起的。公共行政的根本目的就是追求宪政之理念与精神的实现,彰显一国之立国价值;而民主则成为达成这一目的的手段。实现民主宪政之理念与公共行政的整合,不仅成为西方政府追求的目标,它更是我国努力的一个根本方向。     

多视角的公共行政观——评《公共行政学：管理、政治和法律途径》一书

《公共行政学:管理、政治和法律途径》一书是美国著名行政学家戴维·H·罗森布鲁姆和罗伯特·S·克拉夫丘克的力作,是一部在国际公共行政学领域中享有盛誉的经典著作.首先总结了该书提出的三种不同视角的公共行政观、公共行政未来发展九大趋势及坚持传统公共行政范式,力图将(新)公共管理纳入其框架之中的主要观点.其次,分析了该书将法律途径纳入研究视角、多视角地研究公共行政的多元公共行政观及重视公共行政中民主宪政的重要性三方面的贡献及创新之处.再次,指出本书中的三点不足之处:其一是并未达到作者所预期的"合各种途径"的目的;其二是结构略显庞杂,论述不够深入、细致;其三是视角较为狭隘,仅局限于美国.最后,对于该书对我国的借鉴与启示作用,认为:一方面由于中、美国情差异很大,应该慎重对待该书中的相关理论;另一方面应借鉴该书中适用中国的经验、方法,推进中国公共行政理论与实践的发展.     

Contrast and Foundation of the Public Oversight Roles of the U.S. Government Accountability Office and the U.K. National Audit Office

This paper examines and compares, according to the New Public Management approach, the U.S. watchdog, the Government Accountability Office, in its ability to oversee and call to account the executive branch of government, and its U.K. counterpart, the National Audit Office. Results of this examination indicate that the Government Accountability Office is more effective than its U.K. counterpart. Its greater effectiveness is attributable to the fact that it derives its powers and legitimacy from a written constitution; in contrast, in the United Kingdom there is no equivalent document defining the relationship between the state and the citizenry. As a consequence, the powers, duties, and self-perception of the National Audit Office are significantly weaker and more mutable than those of the Government Accountability Office.     

The Impact of the Fiscal Crisis on Public Administration Reforms: Comparison of 14 European Countries

Abstract

This study aims to empirically test a widespread assumption that fiscal crises instigate administrative reforms. The empirical analysis relies upon an international comparative study of the responses of 14 European governments to the fiscal crisis of 2008–2013. It is found that fiscal crisis and public administration reforms are not necessarily closely connected. In the majority of cases, the fiscal crisis did not have an instant effect of triggering structural public administration reforms or substantial shifts in existing reform trajectories. The crisis intensified the pressure to reform public administration to some extent, but the European governments’ responses predominantly followed a combination of straightforward cutbacks and incremental change. More substantial reforms were carried out in countries most severely hit by the crisis and/or where administrative reforms were conditioned by international financial assistance.