The American Review of Public Administration current issue

Beyond the Rhetoric: Lessons From Louisville's Consolidation

Savitch, H.V., Vogel, R. K., Ye, L. — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:09:30 PST

Louisville’s consolidation with Jefferson County was the first large-scale merger to take place in the United States in more than 30 years. The authors examine this merger as a major institutional innovation that was supposed to enhance economic development. Proponents of consolidation claimed that institutional change would "shake up" the system and create an economic boom. The authors use actual results to determine whether this much-heralded experience warrants claims that it can be a role model, point of reference, or best practice. In doing this, they compare data from premerged and postmerged Louisville over a full 8-year period. Of central concern are whether "shake up" worked, how elites manage results as unsatisfying outcomes become apparent, and what that behavior portends for responsible governance. The authors conclude with a number of principles and policies regarding institutional change.

County Limits: Policy Types and Expenditure Priorities

Choi, S. O., Bae, S.-S., Kwon, S.-W., Feiock, R. — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:09:30 PST

This study extends Peterson’s city limits perspective to counties to empirically examine how economic, political, institutional, and demographic factors influence overall county spending and spending priorities across three core policy arenas. Pooled cross-sectional time-series analysis of Florida counties reveals that although population density and economic conditions influence spending, politics and institutions matter. Political ideology as indicated by presidential and gubernatorial Democratic vote share has a positive influence on all three spending categories. The findings also reveal that county adoption of a home rule charter leads to greater emphasis on developmental and redistributive rather than allocational functions.

Does Democratic Anchorage Matter?: An Inquiry Into the Relation Between Democratic Anchorage and Outcome of Dutch Environmental Projects

Edelenbos, J., Steijn, B., Klijn, E.-H. — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:09:30 PST

Does democracy matter? This is an intriguing question. Not only as a normative question, democracy is a value in itself that can be cherished for that reason alone but also as a question of its impact on the outcomes of governance processes. In this article, the authors look at the question of to what degree citizens and politicians are involved in governance processes around environmental projects and what the effect is of these forms of democratic embedding on the outcomes of those projects. The research is based on a survey in 2006 that resulted in 337 respondents involved in spatial projects in the Netherlands. The analysis shows that, according to respondents, both stakeholders and political parties are well involved in the process (stakeholders slightly more than political actors). The authors also find that both democratic anchorage forms are related to perceived outcomes, but only stakeholder involvement has a strong significant effect on outcomes.

Building Trust in Public and Nonprofit Networks: Personal, Dyadic, and Third-Party Influences

Lambright, K. T., Mischen, P. A., Laramee, C. B. — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:09:30 PST

This article provides greater understanding of factors influencing interpersonal trust in networks composed of public and nonprofit service providers. The present theoretical model identifies propensity to trust, the perceived trustworthiness of the trustee, the relationship between the trustee and trustor, and third-party relationships as influencing interpersonal trust. The model is tested using action research data collected from a network of local social service providers. Key findings include the following: (a) Successful past cooperation between a trustor and a trustee and structural equivalence increase the likelihood the trustor will perceive the trustee as trustworthy; (b) the frequency of interactions between the trustor and trustee, trust transferability, and the perceived trustworthiness of the trustee have a direct, positive impact on whether the trustor trusts the trustee; and (c) trust between the trustor and trustee has a positive impact on expected future cooperation.

Competitive Sourcing in the Federal Civil Service

Snavely, K., Desai, U. — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:09:30 PST

Competitive sourcing, meaning public—private competitions to perform work in the federal civil service, was made a priority management policy of the George W. Bush administration. Competition, it is believed, will greatly enhance administrative efficiency whichever bidder, public or private, wins. Introduction of such market-based human resource policies into the federal civil service has engendered debate over long-term effects on merit principles, public service motives and ethics, and administrative performance. This article contributes to that discussion by examining the policy origins and purposes behind competitive sourcing and by analyzing implementation of the policy during the Bush administration. Results show that the market ideology expressed in competitive sourcing has been moderated and mediated by the implementation process. Congressional and public employee involvement alongside that of the administration produced policy outcomes of mixed results.

Impact of Competing Accountability Requirements on Perceived Work Performance

Kim, S. E., Lee, J. W. — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:09:30 PST

A number of qualitative studies have found that failure to accomplish missions can be attributed to competing accountability requirements. This article presents empirical evidence concerning the impact of competing accountability requirements on employees’ perceived work performance. Specifically, this article has two objectives: (a) to identify different types of accountability requirements with quantitative data and (b) to determine to what extent the competing pressures of accountability affect individual employees’ perceived work performance. The authors find that accountability is indeed a complex and multidimensional construct— compliance, professional, and political accountability—that imposes competing pressures on employees’ perceptions of their work performance, which can reduce the probability of actual mission accomplishment in an agency.

Book Review: Stephen Goldsmith and Donald F. Kettl (Eds.). Unlocking the Power of Networks: Keys to High-Performance Government. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2009. 252 pp. $29.95. ISBN 9780815731870

Reckhow, S. — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:09:30 PST