Bureaucratic Failure and Public Expenditure was written to address the question: Once a law is passed, under what conditions will the bureaucracy fail to give the political leaders exactly what they ordered? The book deals explicitly with the federal government of the United States. Certain aspects of the theory could be applied to other large organizations or to other governments and times, but these are separate task.
The book is organized into three parts. Part I is based on a literature survey that roams widely through economics, political science, sociology, public administration, and various related bodies of knowledge. Although much of this was unfamiliar terrain for an economist, the route was defined by the objective of identifying the conditions predisposing to failure. Part II contains 11 brief case studies that are based on reports by the United States General Accounting Office. Relying on this source permitted coverage of a broad selection of the nonmilitary activities of the government. Part III reexamines the hypotheses developed from the literature in the light of the cases and other studies of implementation. The final chapter consists of the author's reflections on the implications of bureaucratic failure.

Contenu

Preface
Part I When Does Bureaucracy Fail?
Chapter 1 The Problem and the Approach
Chapter 2 Hierarchical Control
Chapter 3 Political Control of Bureaucracy
Chapter 4 Controls from within the Bureaucrat
Chapter 5 Types of Bureaucratic Failure
Part II Cases of Bureaucratic Failure
Chapter 6 HUD Houses the Poor
Chapter 7 Fisheries Loan Fund
Chapter 8 Accelerated Public Works
Chapter 9 Grading of Processed Fruits and Vegetables
Chapter 10 Regulation of Pesticides
Chapter 11 Controlling Petroleum Prices
Chapter 12 The Housing Investment Guarantee Program
Chapter 13 Revenue Sharing for Vocational Education
Chapter 14 Improving the Management of Records
Chapter 15 The Pilot Cities Program
Chapter 16 Corruption by Consultants
Part III Bureaucratic Failure and the Agenda for Government
Chapter 17 Some Lessons from the Cases
Chapter 18 Other Empirical Studies
Chapter 19 Failure in Theory and in Practice
Chapter 20 Bureaucratic Failure, Market Failure and the Role of Government
Selected References
Subject Index