This analysis reflects the presumption that the principal-agent relationship is central to an understanding of government spending. Our model's structure is adapted from Jack Hirshleifer's (1970) use of the state-preference theory of decision-making under uncertainty to delimit the information...

This article surveys the empirical literature on voter turnout in an attempt to determine whether the claim that individual behavior in public-regarding decisions conforms to the mini-max-regret rule (precautionary principle) is valid, and also to determine whether or not what we know about...

This essay shows how to align governance mechanisms to achieve public purposes more effectively. First, it explains the alternative governance arrangements employed by public agencies, which boil down to four elementary mechanism designs. Two of the mechanisms (outlay budgets and fixed-price...

Douglas and Wildavsky argue that environmental activism is rooted in an egalitarian cultural bias. Others, like Paehlke, counter that environmental commitments and concerns are autonomous from redistributive concerns. Students of the "New Politics" agree that environmentalism is autonomous from...

This article explains why previous empirical tests of the size principle have failed to produce conclusive results. Particular stress is given to formalizing certain aspects of the legislative process that cause minimum-winning coalitions to comprehend very large majorities; the implications of...

During recessions, the newspapers are filled with stories of the pain caused by state and local budget cuts: slashed mental health funding, reductions in school meals, further delays in long-overdue infrastructure maintenance and replacement, and new taxes. During booms, they are filled stories...

This article shows how to design and organize the delivery of public services to promote the kinds of co-productive behavior needed to make public efforts effective. Second, it specifies human-resource management practices that foster an inclination on the part of public employees to encourage...

The efficacy of alternative institutional arrangements depends upon the information costs that obtain under each. The information revolution has dramatically transformed information costs and, therefore, the optimal placement of the boundary between government, non-governmental organizations,...

Ineffective controllership is, perhaps, the most common managerial failure found in the public sector. This failure affects outcomes and achievements in every area of public policy - often profoundly. Controllers design and operate management-control systems. The effectiveness of alternative...

Alternative models of regulatory decision making/legislative choice are presented and evaluated. A limited rationality model oriented to the common good is proposed as more complete and no less accurate than any of the more cynical alternatives. The implication of this model is that many...