USING BUREAUCRACY SPARINGLY

'Using bureaucracy sparingly' (UBS) is a well-known and traditional canon of good public administration — but one that has a number of meanings which are not wholly compatible with one another. Looking at the interface between government administration and the outside public (rather than at the internal operations of government bureaux), this essay identifies three rather different senses of UBS, all of which are in common currency. The implications of two of these are then explored, in terms of the kinds of preferences they imply for the use of government's administrative instruments. Finally, there is a brief discussion of what the different senses of UBS have in common and of the extent to which they have divergent implications, posing dilemmas for those who might wish to 'use bureaucracy sparingly'.