DEVELOPMENT OF THE BUREAUCRACY Ryan D. Williamson

19 March 2015

Agenda

• Attendance• Announcement

• Quiz 3 on Tuesday

• Lecture on the bureaucracy• Plan for next week

Questions?

Objective

• Explain how historical events influenced the bureaucracy’s independence and professionalism.

What Is the Federal Bureaucracy?

• Bureaucracy refers to the agencies – Civilian and military bureaucracies

• Bureaucrats are those who work for the government, but are not elected • Implement policies Congress and the president decide

upon • Agents to two principals

The Saturday Night Massacre

Private Sector Competition: A Prisoner’s Dilemma

Development of the Executive Bureaucracy: Growth in Size • Increased nationalization led to the bureaucracy’s growth

• Spikes in the size are correlated with reform and new programs

Total Executive-Branch Employment

Development of the Executive Bureaucracy: Spoils System • To the victorious party go the spoils • Jackson rewarded supporters with jobs in the • Bureaucracy

• Patronage

• Led to growth, but also interfered with implementation

• Congress established the civil service

Development of the Executive Bureaucracy: Civil Service • Pendleton Act of 1883 • Most bureaucrats are civil servants • Jobs are protected from patronage, and they cannot be fired for political reasons

• Break up role of party bosses

Pros and Cons of the Spoils System and the Civil Service System

• Spoils system created inefficiency and ineffectiveness with high turnover of unqualified workers

• However, it also minimizes agency loss as its members clearly support the president’s policies

• The civil service system ensures competency and diminished the power of political parties.

• However, it is also more likely to result in a principal-agent problem.

Development of the Executive Bureaucracy: Modern Reforms • Bureaucracy is widely seen as inefficient• It can be difficult to reform the bureaucracy

• Politicians support reform in principle, but avoid actual reforms

• Shrinking the bureaucracy could hurt constituents

Questions?

DEVELOPMENT OF THE BUREAUCRACY Ryan D. Williamson

19 March 2015

BUREAUS AND THE PRINCIPAL AGENT PROBLEMRyan D. Williamson

19 March 2015

Objective

• Describe the principal-agent problem and apply it to understanding bureaucratic governance.

• Explain mechanisms elected officials use to control the bureaucracy.

Principals and Agents in the Executive Bureaucracy• Elected officials (Congress and the president) are principals; bureaucrats are agents

• Two primary principal-agent problems in bureaucracy: • Agencies tend to drift from their defined missions • Conflicting motivations of bureaucrats and elected

officials

Bureaucratic Drift and Coalitional Drift

Bureaucratic Capture

• Agencies can also be influenced by organizations/corporations

• Often these are the very industries they are trying to regulate

• Agencies may care more about the industries than the principals they work for

Motivations of Bureaucrats

• Bureaucrats want autonomy and resources • Build coalitions to help bring about policy change • Possess information and expertise

Bureaucrats as Lawmakers

• Administrative law is made within the executive bureaucracy

• Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council (1984) • Established legal standard for upholding an agency’s

authority to write law in a specific area

Political Influences on the Bureaucracy

• Presidents appoint the top positions at almost all executive branch agencies • More difficult to get appointments through under divided

government

• Congress appropriates money for the bureaucracy

Political Influences on the Bureaucracy: Oversight

• Fire-alarm oversight • Administrative Procedures Act of 1946 established

guidelines • Freedom of Information Act of 1966 requires disclosure

of information • Sunshine Act of 1976 requires open meetings

• Police-patrol oversight• Congress routinely inspects agencies

Political Influences on the Bureaucracy: Interest Groups• Interest groups lobby agencies

• Influence those writing administrative laws • Complain when their interests are threatened

• The iron triangle • Includes interest groups, congressional committees,

and bureaucratic agencies

An Iron Triangle

Questions?

Next week…

• March 24: Quiz 3/ Bullock & Gaddie Chapter 14/ Review

• March 26: Exam Two