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Th e P u b l i c
A d m i n i s t r at i o n
Th e o r y P r i m e r
second edition
H. George Frederickson
University of Kansas
Kevin B. Smith
University of Nebraska
Christopher W. Larimer
University of Northern Iowa
Michael J. Licari
University of Northern Iowa
a member of the perseus books group
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The public administration theory primer / H. George Frederickson . . . [et al.].—
2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8133-4576-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)—ISBN 978-0-8133-4577-2
(e-book) 1. Public administration—United States. I. Frederickson, H. George.
JF1351.F734 2012
351.73—dc23
2011035509
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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Contents
Preface, vii
Chapter 1 Introduction: The Possibilities of Theory 1
Chapter 2 Theories of Political Control of Bureaucracy 15
Chapter 3 Theories of Bureaucratic Politics 41
Chapter 4 Public Institutional Theory 67
Chapter 5 Theories of Public Management 97
Chapter 6 Postmodern Theory 131
Chapter 7 Decision Theory 165
Chapter 8 Rational Choice Theory and Irrational Behavior 193
Chapter 9 Theories of Governance 219
Chapter 10 Conclusion: A Bright Future for Theory? 245
References, 267
Index, 291
v
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Preface
The first edition of The Public Administration Theory Primer sought to address a
problem faced sooner or later by all students, scholars, and practitioners of public
administration. In order to make sense of what we study or practice we need some
structure or framework to understand decisions, outcomes, causes, and the like;
in other words, we need a theory. The big problem in the field of public admin-
istration is not that we lack theory; the problem is one of surfeit rather than deficit.
The big challenge is ordering, synthesizing, and making sense of multiple theo-
retical and empirical perspectives. The first edition of the primer was explicitly
aimed at meeting that challenge.
Since its publication in , The Public Administration Theory Primer has
been adopted by scores of instructors, cited in hundreds of scholarly articles, and
served as a comprehensive survey of the field for thousands of students and aca-
demics. Though it continued to serve as a standard reference and text, events in-
side and outside the academy left the first edition increasingly dated. There have
been numerous new developments and contributions in public administration
theory since its publication; changes in government and management practices
have created new demands for different types of theories; and some of the concepts
and models given extensive coverage in the original edition have either passed
from favor or been superceded by subsequent work.
This second edition of The Primer retains the original’s thematic focus and
general organization, but is extensively updated to include the latest directions
and developments. These include the rise of reporting as a means to hold bureau-
cracy accountable (see Chapter ), the continuing evolution of the “hollow state”
or “shadow bureaucracy” and the rise of network theory (see Chapter ), new
psychological/biological behavioral research with big implications for decision
theory and, especially, rational choice (see Chapters and ). The contributions
of nearly a decade’s worth of new research is woven into all the chapters, some of
which has altered our conclusions about the health and robustness of some pop-
ular conceptual frameworks (see Chapter ).
Many deserve thanks for making the second edition of The Primer possible.
We appreciate the hard work, faith in the project, and patience in seeing it through
vii
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viii Preface
to fruition of Anthony Wahl, our editor at Westview. We also have a long list of
debts to many others whose contributions through two editions should not go
unmentioned. These include Ken Meier, Leisha DeHart-Davis, and Tom Catlaw.
We thank our colleagues at the Department of Public Administration of the Uni-
versity of Kansas, the Department of Political Science at the University of Ne-
braska, and the Department of Political Science at the University of Northern
Iowa for encouraging and supportive environments in which to work. We thank
Dwight Waldo for his inspiration. Above all we thank our spouses, Mary Freder-
ickson, Kelly Smith, Danielle Larimer, and Kirsten Licari, for their unflagging
and loving support.
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1
Introduction:
The Possibilities of Theory
Why Do We Need Theory in Public Administration?
All the great human events in history were probably achieved by what we today
would call public administration. Organization and management practicesin col-
lective or public settings are certainly as old as civilization, and significant changes
in those practices tend to accompany historical shifts in mass-scale social organi-
zation and operation.For example, the transition from feudal society to the ex-
tended nation-state was made possible by the centralization of policy, on the one
hand, and the decentralization of policy implementation, on the other (Tout ;
Ellul ; Chrimes ). The colonial era would be described the same way,
but on a worldwide scale (Gladden ). There are splendid comparisons of
British, French, Portuguese, Dutch, and Belgian approaches to issues of colonial
centralization and decentralization, the management of courts, and the organiza-
tion and management of navies and armies (Gladden , –). Extensive
archaeological research indicates that early Armenian civilizations were built on
rather elaborate forms of administration (Von Hagen ; Prescott ; Mason
; Morley ). In China, the Sung dynasty (A.D. –) “maintained
substantially the traditional Chinese system of government and administration.
The Emperor, who was supreme, was advised and assisted by a Council of State
whose members, varying from five to nine, supervised individually the several or-
gans of Administration, which were grouped under () the Secretariat-Chancellery,
() the Finance Commission, and () the Bureau of Military Affairs” (Gladden
, ; Yutang ; Loewe ; Balazs ; Weber ).
In these and countless other examples, the elemental features of public admin-
istration permeated social development; indeed, it is argued that civilization requires
the elemental features of public administration (Waldo , ; Wildavsky
1
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2 The Public Administration Theory Primer
; Douglas and Wildavsky ). Following Max Weber, the elemental features
of public administration include () some basis of formal authority with claims to
obedience; () intentionally established laws and rules, which apply to all; () spe-
cific spheres of individual competence, which include task differentiation, special-
ization, expertise, and/or professionalization; () the organization of persons into
groups or categories according to specialization; () coordination by hierarchy; ()
continuity through rules and records; () the organization as distinct from the per-
sons holding positions or offices in it; and () the development of particular and
specific organizational technologies (Weber ). Virtually all considerations of
the great epochs of human history have found the building blocks of organization
and management (Gladden ). The practicesof public administration are, then,
as old as civilization and essential to the development of civilization.
Although the practice of public administration is very old, the formal study of
public administration and the elaboration of public administration theory are very
new. As a separate self-conscious or self-aware academic and intellectual thing—
a body of knowledge, a field of professional practice, an academic subject, a form
of politics, a social construction of reality—public administration is young. When
measured from the Federalist, public administration is more than years old,
more than decades, more than generations. When measured from the pub-
lication of Woodrow Wilson’s founding essay (/), public administration
is more than years old, more than decades, more than generations. As a
separate and self-conscious collection of concepts, ideas, reforms, courses and de-
grees, and professed answers to public problems, public administration is a young
adult.
In his encyclopedic description of what we know about public administration,
James Q. Wilson claims to have little interest in theory and expresses the opinion
that theory has little to offer to an understanding of bureaucracy:
I wish that this book could be set forth in a way that proved, or at least illustrated,
a simple, elegant, comprehensive theory of bureaucratic behavior. I have come to
have grave doubts that anything worth calling “organization theory” will ever
exist. Theories will exist, but they will usually be so abstract or general as to explain
rather little. Interesting explanations will exist, some even supported with facts,
but these will be partial, place- and time-bound insights. Many scholars disagree
with me. More power to them. (, xi–xii)
If contemporary understandings of public administration are merely recitations
of facts derived from research—letting the facts speak for themselves—can public
administration theory be taken seriously?
One purpose of this book is to answer this question with a firm yes. Despite
Wilson’s disclaimer, theory is the bedrock of understanding public administration.
Description:The first edition of The Public Administration Theory Primer sought to address
istration is not that we lack theory; the problem is one of surfeit rather than deficit.
