Showing papers in "International Journal of Public Administration in 2006"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors demonstrate that the business improvement district (BID) is a model for urban revitalization that policy entrepreneurs have deliberately transferred, both intra-and inter-nationally.
Abstract: This article demonstrates that the business improvement district (BID) is a model for urban revitalization that policy entrepreneurs have deliberately transferred, both intra- and inter-nationally. Data collected via personal interviews and organizational surveys reveal the origins of the BID model, why and how it was successfully transferred to eight different countries, and the types of conditions that prevent its adoption. Special attention is given to the application of the BID model in the United States and the Republic of South Africa for the purpose of illustrating how entrepreneurs apply new policies in contexts with divergent histories, and political and socio-economic conditions. This study does not test or expand policy transfer theory. However, through a detailed description of the work done by urban revitalization policy entrepreneurs, it seeks to make a modest contribution to the policy transfer literature. It also intends to augment the burgeoning BID literature by identifying key ...
113 citations
TL;DR: The quality of the policy making, the consistency between public administrators and elected officials, and the quality of policy making are the key questions in political science and public administration as mentioned in this paper, and a key question in how elected officials and appointed administrators relate to each other.
Abstract: A key question in political science and public administration is how elected officials and appointed administrators relate to each other. The quality of the policy making, the consistency between p...
90 citations
TL;DR: This article examined the nature of interaction between elected officials and administrators, and argued that both sets of officials have extensive interactions, are interdependent, and have reciprocal influence in local government, and that two distinct and partially separated sets of elected officials come together to shape the governmental process.
Abstract: Local government provides a useful setting for examining political-administrative relations. In an examination of roles and relationships beginning in the 1980s, my interpretation of the nature of interaction between elected officials and administrators shifted from a partial endorsement of the dichotomy model to a demonstration that both sets of officials have extensive interactions, are interdependent, and have reciprocal influence. There is evidence that public administration scholars in the United States from the beginning recognized and advocated this kind of interaction. It is useful to analyze political-administrative relations in terms of a model of complementarity in which two distinct and partially separated sets of officials come together to shape the governmental process.
73 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the sweeping restructuring of the state in Latin America and find that regulatory governance through autonomous agencies that was long confined to the United States and to central banking (at the sectoral level) is evolving from "best practice" to a hegemonic institution grounded in a new convention.
Abstract: This article explores the sweeping restructuring of the state in Latin America. Regulatory governance through autonomous agencies that was long confined to the United States (at the country level) and to central banking (at the sectoral level) is evolving from “best practice” to a hegemonic institution grounded in a new convention. Our dataset reveals an explosive growth of regulatory agencies across different sectors and nations in Latin America. We draw a major distinction between sectoral and national patterns of diffusion that challenges deeply entrenched research designs that treat the nation as the exclusive unit of analysis. Two particular insights exemplify the productivity of our approach. First, it allow us to move the discussion from the American origins of the regulatory state to sectoral origins, namely the centuries of central bank independence in Europe. Second, we found that while the first stages of the diffusion of regulatory authorities in the region display sectoral patterns, ...
70 citations
TL;DR: In the context of Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) as discussed by the authors, business improvement districts have become a challenge to the conventional conception of public administration, and they have been identified as a new form of private government.
Abstract: Because of their growing numbers and the increasingly significant roles they play in providing urban services and influencing public policymaking, Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) have become a challenge to the conventional conception of public administration. Their origins lie in the United States' foundational privatism and the corporate origins of American governments. Many urban services were provided privately until the Progressive movement turned them into what has come to be known as public services. But between the privatization movement that began in and has been accelerating since the late 1970s and the academic advent of public choice theory, BIDs have arisen as a new form of “private government.” As they expand their menus of services, often including land-use planning, and approaching more general-purpose government status, BIDs have begun to raise issues of accountability. This has become a problem for public administration theory, and there is a need to expand the notion of pu...
58 citations
TL;DR: Lehman et al. as mentioned in this paper analyzes tobacco control instruments, policy learning, and political processes in advanced industrial democracies, concluding that despite scientific information, epistemic communities, and government reports, tobacco control legislation only “took off” in the 1980s and subsequently has accelerated.
Abstract: Since the 1960s, a worldwide movement for tobacco control has developed, culminating in the 2003 Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the first international public health treaty. This article analyzes tobacco control instruments, policy learning, and political processes in advanced industrial democracies. Despite scientific information, epistemic communities, and government reports, tobacco control legislation only “took off” in the 1980s and subsequently has accelerated. In addition to policy emulation across countries, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and international bodies such as the European Union (EU) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have facilitated convergence, which continues despite the opposition of economic interests, led by the tobacco industry. Earlier versions of this article were presented at the annual meetings of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, 2003, and the American Political Science Association, Philadelphia, 2003. Mark Lehman of WV...
56 citations
TL;DR: In the past two decades, governments at all levels in the United States haveincreased their involvement with nonprofit organizations as mentioned in this paper, and local governments increasingly involve nonprofits in serviced-delivery, as state and localgovernments deal with devolution of service responsibilities from state and federal governments.
Abstract: In the past two decades governments at all levels in the United States haveincreased their involvement with nonprofit organizations. As state and localgovernments deal with devolution of service responsibilities from state andfederal governments, they confront the challenges of providing more andbetter service while operating within fiscal constraints. To address thesechallenges, local governments increasingly involve nonprofits in servicedelivery. Local governments can draw on nonprofit organizations’ volun-teers and private financial resources, as well as their greater flexibility ofaction. Nonprofits have also become increasingly skilled advocates for theirclients, arguing persuasively for public resources to support their activitiesand seeking to influence governmental agendas and priorities. Increasingly,nonprofits and local governments have partnered to jointly develop andimplement programs.
50 citations
TL;DR: This paper examined the changing nature of the relations between bureaucrats and politicians and found that there is a retreat from what looked originally like a steady progression of bureaucratic influence in policymaking from Image I (politicians making decisions and bureaucrats implementing them) to Image IV (a deepening overlap of roles) back to Image II (with civil servants bringing facts and knowledge to the policy process and politicians defining values and representing interests).
Abstract: This article examines the changing nature of the relations between bureaucrats and politicians. Drawing on our earlier work with Robert D. Putnam (Bureaucrats and Politicians in Western Democracies, 1981) and our book published in 2000 (In the Web of Politics), plus additional works by others in this area, we consider the findings in these studies with particular emphasis on their implications for further research. One notable phenomenon is a retreat from what looked originally like a steady progression of bureaucratic influence in policymaking from Image I (politicians making decisions and bureaucrats implementing them) to Image IV (a deepening overlap of roles) back to Image II (with civil servants bringing facts and knowledge to the policy process and politicians defining values and representing interests). In a dynamic world, one should be cautious in suggesting a future research agenda. Despite this caution, however, we conclude the article with suggestions for work that we think will be imp...
47 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the issue of BID performance measures with the goal of enhancing their capacity as diagnostic and prescriptive tools and examine the different kinds of performance measures in the context of designation and evaluation, paying attention to the needs of the varied stakeholders invested in BIDs performance.
Abstract: This article explores the issue of BID performance measures with the goal of enhancing their capacity as diagnostic and prescriptive tools We examine the different kinds of performance measures in the context of BID designation and evaluation, paying attention to the needs of the varied stakeholders invested in BID performance We develop a typology of the different kinds of indicators that are most appropriate for the mission and land uses within BIDs and discuss ways to institutionalize the use of these indicators This research is based on survey data and case studies of the City of Chicago's Special Services Areas (SSAs) as well as an extension of theory in public administration on the appropriate use of performance measurements We find that Chicago SSAs rarely evaluate their performance in a systematic manner When they are required to do so, they tend to rely on subjective appraisals by stakeholders with conflicts of interest, confuse outputs with outcomes, and assume that renewal applica
43 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the applicability of the Balanced Scorecard model to government organizations in developing countries is explored, and it is shown that implementation of the BSC may be difficult due to a lack of resources, politicization of public administration and corruption.
Abstract: According to its proponents, the Balanced Scorecard has the ability to improve performance and enhance accountability. After discussing domestic and foreign use of the Balanced Scorecard in government agencies in developed countries, this article explores the applicability of the model to government organizations in developing countries. Although an advanced method such as the BSC may be able to facilitate improvement, implementation of the method by countries facing so many concurrent challenges would be difficult due to a lack of resources, politicization of public administration, and corruption.
42 citations
TL;DR: The benefits, costs, and implications of these policy transfers are discussed in this paper, where the authors present the agenda for the study of change by the contributors to this special issue.
Abstract: Modern societies are going global and in this process are redefining the boundaries between the domestic and the external. In a “shrinking world,” policy lessons are increasingly drawn on a cross-national basis rather than on specific national experience and are less and less constrained by cultural and geopolitical boundaries. The know-how of other nations is increasingly conceived as essential and relevant for the economic competitiveness of nations and for the welfare of their citizens. Epistemic communities, international organizations, and policy entrepreneurs thus transfer this “know-how” to the domestic economic, political, and social settings that are often radically different from the original. The benefits, costs, and implications of these policy transfers are the subject of this special issue. This article presents the agenda for the study of change by the contributors to this special issue. Research for this article was carried out by David Levi-Faur during a year’s stay in RegNet, th...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine four active Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) in downtown Washington, DC and discuss the political and economic context of both the creation and operation of these four BIDs, and consider the extent that they have become an institutionalized form of metropolitan governance.
Abstract: Metropolitan areas have increasingly relied on the creation of Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) as a way to focus on the special needs of retail and commercial centers. Whether part of the central city or a suburb, these relatively recent forms of organizations represent a new way to address sub-municipal issues. As such, they have become an important part of metropolitan governance and administration. The BIDs also clearly fit within the recent set of ideas represented by advocates of “new governance” that emphasizes both public/private partnerships and alternative institutional structures as strategies for addressing problems of metropolitan governance. This article examines four active BIDs in downtown Washington, DC. It presents the political and economic context of both the creation and operation of the four BIDs, relates them to new governance ideas, considers the extent that they have become an institutionalized form of metropolitan governance and finally, speculates on the extent tha...
TL;DR: The study of city management is the study of how politics and administration intersect as mentioned in this paper, and it is the manager's job to facilitate the connection between policy making and administrative staff in terms of implementation.
Abstract: The study of city management is the study of how politics and administration intersect. While it was conventional in council-manager government at one time to view the governing body in terms of policy making and the administrative staff in terms of implementation, that convention does not pass the empirical test. The city manager sits at the nexus of what is politically acceptable and what is administratively feasible. It is his/her job to facilitate the connection. The key word is facilitate. But others are appropriate as well. The manager “convenes,” “builds bridges,” and creates “intersections.” In all of this, the manager must remain politically sensitive but politically non-aligned. One key to traversing this potential mind field is grounding one's actions in fundamental political values that create legitimacy. A case study is provided to illustrate how one manager's actions reflect this work and the grounding.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors reviewed various experiments in local government reforms in Bangladesh and analyzes the relevant issues from a political economy perspective, and concluded that despite considerable efforts made over the years no effective and viable local government system has emerged in Bangladesh.
Abstract: Local government is being widely recognized in all developing countries as a vital institutional form for ensuring grass-root level democracy and participatory development. Bangladesh is no exception. This article reviews various experiments in local government reforms in Bangladesh and analyzes the relevant issues from a political economy perspective. Despite considerable efforts made over the years no effective and viable local government system has emerged in Bangladesh. Central control through local bureaucracy and the politicization of the management of local government affairs have been systematic phenomena.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored park and recreation service provision costs across contractor sectors, controlling for the choice to contract out a service or not, and indicated the importance of competitive markets and economies of scale in reducing transaction cost risk which local governments must face.
Abstract: Despite the growing scholarly attention on the efficiency rationale of contracting out, the empirical evidence to support claims that contracting out service delivery reduces service costs has not been forthcoming. Using transaction cost theories, this research explores park and recreation service provision costs across contractor sectors, controlling for the choice to contract out a service or not. The two-stage Heckman model indicates the importance of competitive markets and economies of scale in reducing transaction cost risk which local governments must face. This research also addresses how state and local institutional settings define the context in which policy decisions are made and implemented.
TL;DR: The authors argue that business improvement districts can best be understood as genuine public-private partnerships that serve simultaneously as instruments of public policy which advance general public interests and as self-help entities which serve more particular interests.
Abstract: Business improvement districts (BIDs)—special districts usually governed by business and property owners—have been portrayed by some observers as private governments serving narrow commercial interests and by others as policy tools—instruments employed by states and general-purpose local governments to mobilize resources and advance public purposes. We use data from case law, case studies of local practices, and a statewide survey of New Jersey's BIDs to argue that they can best be understood as genuine public-private partnerships that serve simultaneously as instruments of public policy which advance general public interests and as self-help entities which serve more particular interests.
TL;DR: In this paper, the results of an empirical study on business improvement districts (BIDs) in Pennsylvania are discussed, which suggest that multiple theoretical explanations are needed to understand BIDs since they are simultaneously mechanisms of privatized public service delivery and po...
Abstract: This article discuses the results of an empirical study on the business improvement districts (BID)s in Pennsylvania. As self-assessment districts that have gained economic and political importance in metropolitan areas, BIDs pose challenges for metropolitan governance. This article examines Pennsylvania's BIDs to illustrate these challenges. Pennsylvania is one of the earlier states to legally enable BIDs and it has a wide variety of BIDs: from the wealthiest and most functionally diverse to those with very limited funds and scope. The evolution of the BID laws in Pennsylvania are discussed. Also discussed are the processes of BID creation, continuation, and dissolution; the proliferation of their functions and powers; their revenue sources; and their accountability to local governments and general publics. The findings of the research suggest that multiple theoretical explanations are needed to understand BIDs since they are simultaneously mechanisms of privatized public service delivery and po...
TL;DR: In Denmark, parliamentarism has developed practices that balance the strong executive position of ministers against the parliamentary constraints created by minority government as mentioned in this paper, and this way ministers have been able to strengthen the incentives for civil servants to deliver the services they demand.
Abstract: Danish parliamentarism has developed practices that balance the strong executive position of ministers against the parliamentary constraints created by minority government. In this way ministers have been able to strengthen the incentives for civil servants to deliver the services they demand. Parliament on its side has marked the constraints within which the incumbent government can use the civil service for its political purposes. By implication Denmark has upheld a pure merit civil service that is ready to serve political executives, even if this implies its involvement in procedures and dealings considered as belonging to the game of politics in certain civil service systems.
TL;DR: In the first half of the 20th century, municipal administration included emphasizing that municipal officials in a democracy must contribute to the maintenance of an informed citizenry by reporting to the public, using such techniques as annual reports as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: In the first half of the 20th century, municipal administration included emphasizing that municipal officials in a democracy must contribute to the maintenance of an informed citizenry by reporting to the public, using such techniques as annual reports. Municipal reporting was in its heyday from the 1920s to the 1940s. Then, by the end of the 20th century, it gradually disappeared from the municipal administrator’s agenda. Nonetheless, based on its theory and rationale, municipal reporting remains a duty of the public manager in a democracy. While not part of the e-government agenda yet, the new technologies of the digital era have the capacity to transform the traditional 20th century concept of municipal reporting into e-reporting for the 21st.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the use of business improvement districts in inner city commercial areas and find that their use is growing in sma... while much of the academic and popular press literature on BIDs has addressed their use in downtowns.
Abstract: The discourse of urban redevelopment and revitalization has changed remarkably over the past decade. With a decade of national economic growth leading to success in the professional services, tourism and convention markets, new life has been breathed into many city centers. This has led to a new theoretical focus on whether these gains could also be realized in city neighborhoods. A history of declining public resources brought on by the brutal confluence of de-industrialization and federal disinvestment left many neighborhood commercial areas at a loss in their competition with newly formed suburban retail developments. Moreover, surging crime rates and under-managed public space—which led to rising fear levels among urban space users—merely exacerbated this downward trend. This article examines the use of business improvement districts in inner city commercial areas. While much of the academic and popular press literature on BIDs has addressed their use in downtowns, their use is growing in sma...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the relationship between contract failure and service characteristics and explored the connection between failure and nonprofit and for-profit status, finding that contract failure is more common than anticipated, and is actually relatively more frequent than privatization, while service characteristics are associated with the frequency of contract failure.
Abstract: This article examines the relationship between “contract failure” (the bringing “in-house” of previously contracted services) and service characteristics. The connection between contract failure and nonprofit and for-profit status is also explored. The analyses are performed using International City/County Management Association data and three service typologies constructed by previous scholars. The findings indicate that: 1) contract failure is more common than anticipated, and is actually relatively more common than privatization; 2) while service characteristics are associated with the frequency of contract failure, the nexus is tenuous; 3) nonprofit entities are less prone to contract failure than their for-profit counterparts.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identify the espoused and enacted value perspectives for two sets of U. S. government officials, presidents and senior executives through a content analysis of agency mission statements and speeches of Presidents Bush, Clinton and Bush, a subject matter analysis of executive orders, and a survey of senior executives.
Abstract: Public administration scholars have little understanding of the operation of values within public sector organizations. Because the institutional values literature suggests that behavior consistent with American values by public organizations and officials can make a difference in successful policy outcomes, this research focuses on identifying the espoused and enacted value perspectives for two sets of U. S. government officials, presidents and senior executives. Through a content analysis of agency mission statements and speeches of Presidents Bush, Clinton and Bush, a subject matter analysis of executive orders, and a survey of senior executives, the following information is identified: The three presidents espouse the same set of values (i.e., ethics, performance, and support) in their speeches, but enact only one common value (i.e., commitment) in their executive orders. Although not statistically significant, two (i.e., performance and ethics) of the three top values in the agency mission s...
TL;DR: This paper argued that the processes associated with globalization provide national actors the means (opportunity) to learn how to govern more effectively, ensuring that the nation-state is as important today as it ever was in relation to the governing process.
Abstract: While globalization is commonly viewed as leading to an ever-decreasing capacity of the nation-state to govern within its territorial boundaries, this article will argue that by overlaying a policy transfer framework on the processes more commonly associated with globalization it is possible to bring the states back into the debate. Specifically, it will be argued that the processes associated with globalization provide national actors the means (opportunity) to learn how to govern more effectively—ensuring that the nation-state is as important today as it ever was in relation to the governing process.
TL;DR: This article presented new survey research of the Pacific Salmon Commission, a binational organization established under the Canada-U.S. Pacific Salmon Treaty in 1985, to determine if this represents a reduction of national sovereignty through increased power for either non-state actors or subnational governments.
Abstract: Has the traditional view of the nation-state as the only sovereign actor in international relations given way to a new model with globalization, the rise of subnational governments, and the potential weakening of the state implied by the governance and networks literature? Cross-border interactions now involve an enlarged cast of characters and much theoretical literature suggests that the nation-state is therefore losing power. This article presents new survey research of the Pacific Salmon Commission, a binational organization established under the Canada-U.S. Pacific Salmon Treaty in 1985. While such institutions have assumed a significant role in international relations, this research sought to determine if this represents a reduction of national sovereignty through increased power for either non-state actors or subnational governments.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provide an assessment of the nature and functioning of business improvement districts (BIDs) in the metropolitan area of the Southern California region using case study research of five BIDs located in various areas of Southern California.
Abstract: This article provides an assessment of the nature and functioning of Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) in the metropolitan area of the Southern California region. While modern BIDs date back to the mid-1960s, the emergence of BIDs is a relatively new phenomenon. The increasing numbers of BID in metropolitan areas have governance and jurisdictional implications. These implications are the central concern of this article. The governance and jurisdictional issues are examined with four research questions: Why and how were BIDs established? How do BIDs function? How are BIDs held accountable? Are BIDs effective? This article relies on case study research of five BIDs located in various areas of Southern California. Interviews were conducted with BID managers and local government representatives. Contextual information was gathered from state laws, official documents, and websites.
TL;DR: The authors compared the effectiveness of the administrative subculture of public and private sector employees by comparing the efficacy of their organizational processes and found that ambiguity with respect to customers, promotion, superiors, and ethical situations was evident across both public-and private-sector groups.
Abstract: This article compares the effectiveness of the administrative subculture of public and private sector employees by comparing the efficacy of their organizational processes. The paper provides some evidence that assumptions about the superiority of private sector administrative subculture (as measured by comparing the effectiveness of organizational communication processes in reducing task ambiguity) are probably not warranted. The perception that private sector administrative subculture is more results-orientated than public sector practices appears not to have been substantiated in this study. In contrast, ambiguity with respect to customers, promotion, superiors, and ethical situations was evident across both public and private groups however; the impact on job satisfaction outcomes was greater for public sector employees in general.
TL;DR: In this article, the Egyptian Copt diaspora advocates for human rights and improved quality of life of Copts residing in Egypt using information and communication technologies (ICTs) in order to advocate for their rights.
Abstract: Conventional wisdom holds that globalization, and its specific contributing factors such as immigration, information technology, and the emergence of universal values that inform international law, poses a challenge to state sovereignty. This article analyzes this assertion by examining one case, which encompasses each of these factors. Following a review of the literature, this article describes the efforts, using information and communication technologies, of the Egyptian Copt diaspora to advocate for human rights and improved quality of life of Copts residing in Egypt. We conclude that while the theory and practice of state sovereignty are certainly evolving and increasingly complex, the essence of state sovereignty is not necessarily challenged by these trends and may even be supported by them.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the construction of group and professional identities in situations of organizational change, and find that characterizations of both self and other became barriers to the change process.
Abstract: This article seeks to explore the construction of group and professional identities in situations of organizational change. It considers empirical material drawn from a health demonstration project funded by the Scottish Executive Health Department, and uses insights from this project to discuss issues that arise from identity construction(s) and organizational change. In the course of the project studied here, a new organizational form was developed which involved a network arrangement with a voluntary sector organization and the employment of “lay-workers” in what had traditionally been a professional setting. Our analysis of the way actors made sense of their identities reveals that characterizations of both self and other became barriers to the change process. These identity dynamics were significant in determining the way people interpreted and responded to change within this project and which may relate to other change-oriented situations.
TL;DR: Community improvement districts (CIDs) as mentioned in this paper are business improvement districts with a difference: they are constitutionally established autonomous local governments, though entirely run by the districts' leading property/business owners, mostly real estate and banking interests.
Abstract: Community improvement districts (CIDs) in Georgia are business improvement districts (BIDs) with a difference: They are constitutionally established autonomous local governments, though entirely run by the districts' leading property/business owners, mostly real estate and banking interests. Like BIDs they assess themselves but, as governments, they are also able to leverage large sums of state and federal monies for substantial infrastructure construction and improvements. In metropolitan Atlanta, CIDs arose first in response to an excess of success in suburban commercial nodes that required large-scale capital investments and transportation improvements. In the business-friendly political climate of Georgia they are strongly supported by the officials of the counties and city within which they are located, though there are some differences between CID and local government relations from county to county and especially the city. The autonomous legal status of CIDs and their ability to leverage ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the mechanism of "soft law" that facilitates the participation of non-state actors in policy processes traditionally and even exclusively populated by sovereign nation states and offer a perspective on the impacts of an important set of these of these actors: international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs).
Abstract: This article discusses the mechanism of “soft law” that facilitates the participation of non-state actors in policy processes traditionally and even exclusively populated by sovereign nation states. I offer a perspective on the impacts of an important set of these of these actors: international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs). By articulating aspects of INGO influence, the article serves as a conceptual map to bridge an emerging question as to whether INGOs are most appropriately placed within or without Westphalia, the traditional worldview paradigm recognizing sovereign nation-states as the primary and legitimate institutions of global policy creation, enactment, and enforcement.