Government Institutions: Effects, Changes and Normative Foundations

Research on government institutions is one of the most exciting intellectual areas in political science and policy studies today. Increasingly it is recognized by scholars in these fields that effective and legitimate policies depend on the design and maintenance of complex institutional arrangements. This book brings together some of the leading scholars in institutional research in The Netherlands. Their work addresses such perennially difficult questions in institutional research such as: How do we understand institutional change? How do we measure the effects of institutions on societal sectors and public policy? How do the normative foundations of government institutions influence their functioning? What are the principles of effective and legitimate institutional design? Through analysis of well-researched examples ranging from the fabled Dutch `poldermodel', through the transformation of the welfare state, through privatizations of the Dutch telecommunications industry, to the work of welfare officials, these authors demonstrate the interpenetration of normative, empirical and design issues in institutional theory. The book is intended for scholars and graduate students in political science, public policy, public administration, and law.

Inhalt

Preface; H. Wagenaar. Part I: Institutional Change. Institutional crises and reforms in policy sectors; A. Boin, P. 't Hart. Institutional change of welfare states; Empirical reality, theoretical obstacles; R. van der Veen, W. Trommel, B. de Vroom. The interplay of institutional sectors; Negotiating policy change in the Dutch welfare state; A. Hemerijck. Part II: Testing Institutional Theory. Dedicated followers of fashion; Program emulation at Dutch universities; J. Huisman. Constitutional change in the European Union; Parliament's impact on the reform of the codecision procedure; B. Steunenberg. Part III: Normative Foundations of Government Institutions. Legitimate governance within the state; B. Dorbeck-Jung, H. de Jong. The Procrustean Bed of the Rational Organization; The works of Taylor, Weber and Fayol revisited; P. Schreurs. Oedipus in the Welfare Office; Practice, discourse and identity in public administration; H. Wagenaar, R. Hartendorp. Part IV: Institutional Design. Cultural bias and framing wicked problems; A comparative analysis of structuring the car mobility problem by three institutes for parliamentarian technology assessment; J. Grin, R. Hoppe. Institutional change and implementation; A dynamic implementation-study of the Dutch General Administrative Law Act; G. Dijkstra, F. Jorna. Organizing Accountability: From Best Practices to Dilemmas in Design; M. van Twist. Design in Context: Applying Institutional Analysis to Social Designing; A. Timmermans. Biography. Index.