{"product_id":"9780817383947","title":"Comparing Public Bureaucracies: Problems of Theory and Method","description":"\u003cp\u003eNormal0falsefalsefalseMicrosoftInternetExplorer4\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe comparative study of public policy once promised to make major contributions to our understanding of government. Much of that promise now appears unfulfilled. What accounts for this decline in intellectual fortunes and change in intellectual fashion? \u003ci\u003eComparing Public Bureaucracies\u003c\/i\u003e seeks to understand why. One of the principal answers is that there is no readily accepted and dependent variable that would allow comparative public administration to conform to the usual canons of social research. In contrast, comparative public policy has a ready-made dependent variable in public expenditure.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePeters discusses four possible dependent variables for comparative public administration. The first is \u003ci\u003epersonnel\u003c\/i\u003e—the number and type of people who work for government. Second, the number and type of \u003ci\u003eorganizations\u003c\/i\u003e that form government can suggest a great deal about the structure of government. Third, the \u003ci\u003ebehavior\u003c\/i\u003e of members is obviously important for understanding what actually happens in government—such as the extents to which bureaucracies approximate the budget-maximizing behavior posited by economists. Ginally, the relative \u003ci\u003epower\u003c\/i\u003e of civil servants in the policymaking process is a major factor in institutional politics in contemporary industrial societies.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"University of Alabama Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47080550105328,"sku":"9780817383947","price":26.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780817383947_p0.jpg?v=1763749899","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780817383947","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}