POLITICIANS AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF PUBLIC POLICIES

Policy scientists can make important contributions to the study of policy distribution, a question that is likely to be among the most crucial national issues to be discussed throughout this decade. One aspect of this question that has been neglected is the theoretical assumption associated with public choice theory that politicians, once elected, will reward their supporters through the distribution of policy benefits. However, empirical research indicates that policy benefits seldom are distributed in this way. Instead, politicians follow the principle of universalism. In league with bureaucracies and policy communities, politicians define need and then ask bureaucracies to allocate benefits. This makes politicians roles as distributors of policy very different than simplistic models suggest.     

THE BEHAVIOUR OF LEGISLATORS AND BUREAUCRATS AND POLICING EXPENDITURES: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AND SOME EMPIRICAL RESULTS*

Abstract: This paper is concerned with an analysis of legislation, public administration and government expenditure decisions on policing activities. These three dimensions of government can be used as mechanisms of social control. Whether they are or not is an empirical question that has to be determined in each case. It is shown that there are no strict relationships between the three dimensions of government activity: separate decision-making is undertaken for each of the three dimensions. It is indicated that there are eight possible combinations of the three dimensions, assuming that the three dimensions of government activity are bivariate and discrete. The empirical analysis relates to the state of Queensland and it is concluded that Queensland can be described as a case consisting of authoritarian legislation, public administration contrary to the rule of law, and low policing expenditures.     

THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF MEXICAN AND CUBAN IMMIGRANTS BY POLITICIANS

Schneider and Ingram (1993) propose that the amount and quality of service that target groups receive from their government is related to two factors: political power (strong or weak); and the target groups’ image in the public eye (positive or negative), also known as “social constructions.” This research examines political candidates’ social constructions of Mexican and Cuban immigrants in major newspapers. Using newspaper articles from Lexis/Nexus (an electronic newspaper database), we content analyzed 495 major US newspapers over a six‐year period. Our results indicate that Latin American immigration, particularly Mexican immigration, is championed as a political platform in ways consistent with Schneider and Ingram's model.     

WATERPOWER AND WILDERNESS: POLITICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE ASPECTS OF THE LAKE PEDDER CONTROVERSY

Not that even the truth was easy to discover: different eye-witnesses give different accounts of the same events, speaking out of partiality for one side or the other or else from imperfect memories.     

PROFILE OF A PUBLIC SERVICE UNION: THE ACT BRANCH OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE AND CLERICAL OFFICERS' ASSOCIATION

Abstract: The ACOA is now the largest union in Australia whose members are exclusively engaged in public employment; and the ACT branch, with some 12,000 members, is the largest in the union. Over the past twenty years the association has been in the process of transforming itself into an organization more like an orthodox trade union. This process has accelerated during the past decade, with the adoption of certain types of sanctions to support endeavours for the attainment of its goals. While this change has been occurring throughout the ACOA its progress has not been uniform within its eight branches. When it comes to engaging in direct industrial action the ACT branch is usually at variance with other branches, preferring to adhere to established principles of conciliation and arbitration. The predominantly higher-paid, career conscious members in the ACT see less need to use aggressive bargaining tactics than their colleagues elsewhere. Nevertheless, the branch has not escaped the effects of changing attitudes among public servants to the role of their unions. Since the latter 1960s the internal political life of the branch has been marked by factional divisions. The principal division has been between an ALP-supporting faction which favours a more orthodox role for the union and a Catholic, conservative faction identified with the Democratic Labor Party before its demise and the National Civic Council. This latter faction favours a continuation of the traditionally conservative stance of the union. For the future there is no sign of a decrease in the controversy which has surrounded branch politics in recent years although the bulk of the members will probably opt for a continuation of the established ways of doing things.     

THE "NEW ADMINISTRATIVE LAW": SOME ASSUMPTIONS AND QUESTIONS

Abstract: Sweeping changes in administrative review legislation and procedures have occurred in Australian Federal government very quickly and with little debate. There have been several assumptions underlying the proposals for administrative law reform, including the notions that government has expanded greatly, that it has intruded into citizens' lives, that it is scarcely restrained by parliament, and that the specialist administrative tribunals established at various times are only partly effective. While these assumptions are all correct in certain respects, they do not necessarily support the demands for administrative law reform in the manner and to the extent that has generally been proposed. Closer examination of these assumptions suggests that comprehensive administrative review might itself lead to further expansion of government; that political decisions will have to be made about degrees of intrusion by government; that political avenues for redress of grievances should not be ignored, and could possibly be developed further; and that the need to prevent administrative errors is at least as great as the need to correct them after they have occurred. There is a good case for comprehensive administration review, but it needs to be examined more closely so that future problems can be anticipated and avoided.     

JAPANESE BUREAUCRATS AND POLICY IMPLEMENTATION: LESSONS FOR AMERICA?

In recent years, American business has attempted to learn the secrets of Japanese business success. This paper asks whether it would be equally useful to examine Japanese public administration to determine why the Japanese government seems to be so much more successful than American government in implementing public policies. It is widely agreed that policy implementation in the United States involves considerable "slippage" between policy intent and achievement. By contrast, scholars agree that Japanese public policy is usually implemented effectively and efficiently. This paper argues that the Japanese case has three important implications for the United States: effective policy implementation is possible, better implementation would result from allowing civil servants to participate more fully in policy formulation, and the development of an elite corps of top civil servants could make a major contribution to better policymaking and implementation.