The Public Administration Theory Primer

by Frederickson, H. George; Smith, Kevin B.

• ISBN13: 9780813398044
• ISBN10: 0813398045
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-02-20
• Publisher: Westview Pr

Summary

In the past thirty years, public administration has developed more systematic patterns of inquiry about the substance of public organization behavior, public management, and public policy implementation. This book explores how the science and art of policy administration is definable, describable, replicable, and cumulative. Frederickson and Smith describe several theories and analytical approaches that contribute to what we know about policy administration. This book asks: Which theories or approaches are the most promising, the most influential? Which are the most important now and likely to be the most important in the future? The purpose of this effort is to set out a detailed description of key theories in contemporary public administration and thus improve the reliability of our knowledge and our understanding of public administration.

Author Biography

H. George Frederickson is Distinguished Professor of Government at the University of Kansas. Kevin B. Smith is an associate professor of political science at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. He has authored or co-authored several books including The Ideology of Education and The Case Against School Choice, and is published widely in academic journals. H. George Frederickson is Distinguished Professor of Government at the University of Kansas.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Introduction: The Possibilities of Theory	1	(14)
Theories of Political Control of Bureaucracy	15	(26)
Theories of Bureaucratic Politics	41	(26)
Public Institutional Theory	67	(28)
Theories of Public Management	95	(32)
Postmodern Theory	127	(34)
Decision Theory	161	(24)
Rational Choice Theory	185	(22)
Theories of Governance	207	(22)
Conclusion: A Bright Future for Theory?	229	(20)
References	249	(18)
Index	267