Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",
[Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the Administrative Process''. Washington D.C.: CQ Press] and also to the
academic discipline
An academic discipline or academic field is a subdivision of knowledge that is taught and researched at the college or university level. Disciplines are defined (in part) and recognized by the academic journals in which research is published, a ...
which studies how
public policy
Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a Group decision-making, decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to Problem solving, solve or address relevant and problematic social issues, guided by a conceptio ...
is created and implemented.
In an academic context, public administration has been described as the study of government decision-making; the analysis of policies and the various inputs that have produced them; and the inputs necessary to produce alternative policies. It is also a subfield of
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
where studies of policy processes and the structures, functions, and behavior of public institutions and their relationships with broader society take place. The study and application of public administration is founded on the principle that the proper functioning of an organization or institution relies on effective management.
The mid-twentieth century saw the rise of German
sociologist Max Weber
Maximilian Carl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German Sociology, sociologist, historian, jurist, and political economy, political economist who was one of the central figures in the development of sociology and the social sc ...
's theory of
bureaucracy
Bureaucracy ( ) is a system of organization where laws or regulatory authority are implemented by civil servants or non-elected officials (most of the time). Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments ...
, bringing about a substantive interest in the theoretical aspects of public administration. The 1968
Minnowbrook Conference, which convened at
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...
under the leadership of
Dwight Waldo
Clifford Dwight Waldo (September 28, 1913 – October 27, 2000) was an American political science, political scientist and major figure in modern public administration. Waldo's career was often directed against a scientific/technical portrayal ...
, gave rise to the concept of
New Public Administration, a pivotal movement within the discipline today.
Definitions
Public administration encompasses the execution, oversight, and management of government policies and the management of public affairs. The field involves the organization, operation, and strategic coordination of
bureaucratic structures in the public sector. Public administrators play a significant role in devising and executing policies, managing shared resources, and ensuring the efficient functioning of government agencies and programs.
In 1947,
Paul H. Appleby
Paul Henson Appleby (September 13, 1891 – October 21, 1963) was an American journalist, public servant, and educator. He was the editor of ''Iowa Magazine'' in Waterloo, Iowa from 1920 to 1924. The four years following saw him as an editorial ...
defined public administration as the "public leadership of public affairs directly responsible for executive action." In democracies, it usually has to do with such leadership and executive action in terms that respect and contribute to the dignity, worth, and potential of the citizen. One year later, Gordon Clapp, then Chairman of the
Tennessee Valley Authority
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolin ...
, defined public administration "as a public instrument whereby democratic society may be more completely realized." This implies that it must relate itself to concepts of justice, liberty, and fuller economic opportunity for human beings and is thus concerned with "people, with ideas, and with things". James D. Carroll and Alfred M. Zuck called
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...
's publication of his essay, "
The Study of Administration "The Study of Administration" is an 1887 article by Woodrow Wilson in ''Political Science Quarterly''. It is widely considered a foundational article in the field of public administration, making Wilson one of the field's founding fathers, along wi ...
," "the beginning of public administration as a specific and influential field of study."
More recently, scholars claim that "public administration has no generally accepted definition" because the "scope of the subject is so great and so debatable that it is easier to explain than define."
Public administration is a field of study (i.e., a discipline) and an occupation. There is much disagreement about whether the study of public administration can properly be called a discipline, largely because of the debate over whether public administration is a sub-field of political science or a sub-field of administrative science, the latter an outgrowth of its roots in policy analysis and evaluation research.
Scholar Donald F. Kettl is among those who view public administration "as a sub-field within political science."
According to Lalor, a society with a public authority that provides at least one public good can be said to have a public administration, whereas the absence of either (or ''a fortiori'' both) a public authority or the provision of at least one public good implies the absence of a public administration. He argues that public administration is the public provision of public goods in which the demand function is satisfied more or less effectively by politics, whose primary tool is rhetoric, providing for public goods, and the supply function is satisfied more or less efficiently by public management, whose primary tools are speech acts, producing public goods. The moral purpose of public administration, implicit in its acceptance of its role, is the maximization of the opportunities of the public to satisfy its wants.
The
North American Industry Classification System
The North American Industry Classification System or NAICS () is a industry classification, classification of business establishments by type of economic activity (the process of production). It is used by governments and business in Canada, Mexic ...
definition of the Public Administration sector (NAICS 91) states that public administration "... comprises establishments primarily engaged in activities of a governmental nature, that is, the enactment and judicial interpretation of laws and their pursuant regulations, and the administration of programs based on them." This includes "legislative activities, taxation, national defense, public order and safety, immigration services, foreign affairs and international assistance, and the administration of government programs are activities that are purely governmental in nature."
History
India in the 6th century BCE
The
Harappa
Harappa () is an archaeological site in Punjab, Pakistan, about west of Sahiwal, that takes its name from a modern village near the former course of the Ravi River, which now runs to the north. Harappa is the type site of the Bronze Age Indus ...
and
Mohenjo-daro
Mohenjo-daro (; , ; ) is an archaeological site in Larkana District, Sindh, Pakistan. Built 2500 BCE, it was one of the largest settlements of the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation, and one of the world's earliest major city, cities, contemp ...
civilizations had organized bodies of public servants, suggesting the presence of some form of public administration. Numerous references exist to
Brihaspati
Brihaspati (, ), is a Hindu god. In the ancient Vedic scriptures, Brihaspati is associated with fire, and the word also refers to a god who counsels the devas and devis (gods and goddesses). In some later texts, the word refers to the large ...
's contributions to laws and governance. An excerpt from
Ain-i-Akbari
The ''Ain-i-Akbari'' (), or the "Administration of Akbar", is a 16th-century detailed document regarding the administration of the Mughal Empire under Emperor Akbar, written by his court historian, Abu'l Fazl, in the Persian language. It forms ...
ol.III, tr. by H. S. Barrett, p. 217–218 written by
Abul Fazl
Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak (14 January 1551 – 22 August 1602), also known as Abul Fazl, Abu'l Fadl and Abu'l-Fadl 'Allami, was an Indian writer, historian, and politician who served as the grand vizier of the Mughal Empire from his appointment ...
, mentions a symposium of philosophers from various faiths held in 1578 at Akbar's instance. It is believed that some
Charvaka
Charvaka (; IAST: ''Cārvāka''), also known as ''Lokāyata'', is an ancient school of Indian philosophy, Indian materialism. It's an example of the Hindu Atheism, atheistic schools in the Ancient Indian philosophies. Charvaka holds direct per ...
thinkers may have participated in the symposium. In "
Naastika," Fazl refers to the Charvaka law-makers emphasizing "good work, judicious administration, and welfare schemes."
Somadeva
Somadeva, also known as Somadeva Bhatta, was an 11th century writer from Kashmir. He is best known for his work '' Kathasaritsagara''.
Somadeva is believed to have lived in Kashmir, a region in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, ...
also describes the Charvaka method of defeating the nation's enemies, referring to thirteen disguised enemies in the kingdom with selfish interests who should not be spared.
Kautilya
''Kautilya's Arthashastra'' (, ; ) is an Ancient Indian Sanskrit treatise on statecraft, politics, economic policy and military strategy. The text is likely the work of several authors over centuries, starting as a compilation of ''Arthashas ...
presents a detailed scheme to remove the enemies in the guise of friends. The Charvaka stalwart, Brihaspati, is more ancient than Kautilya and Somadeva. He appears to be contemporaneous with the Harappa and Mohenjo-daro cultures.
Archaeological evidence regarding kings, priests, and palaces in the Harappa and
Mohenjo-Daro
Mohenjo-daro (; , ; ) is an archaeological site in Larkana District, Sindh, Pakistan. Built 2500 BCE, it was one of the largest settlements of the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation, and one of the world's earliest major city, cities, contemp ...
excavations is limited. However, the presence of complex civilization and public facilities such as granaries and bathhouses, along with the existence of large cities, indicates the likelihood of centralized governance. The uniformity in the artifacts and brick sizes suggests that there was some form of centralized governance. Although speculation regarding social hierarchies and class structures is plausible, the absence of discernible elite burial sites also suggests that most citizens were almost equal in status.
Antiquity to the 19th century
Dating back to antiquity, states have required officials like pages, treasurers, and tax collectors to administer the practical business of government. Before the 19th century, the staffing of most public administrations was rife with nepotism, favoritism, and political patronage, which was often referred to as a "
spoils system
In politics and government, a spoils system (also known as a patronage system) is a practice in which a political party, after winning an election, gives government jobs to its supporters, friends (cronyism), and relatives (nepotism) as a rewar ...
". Public administrators have long been the "eyes and ears" of rulers. In medieval times, the abilities to read and write, as well as, add and subtract were as dominated by the educated elite as public employment. Consequently, the need for expert civil servants whose ability to read and write formed the basis for developing expertise in such necessary activities as legal record-keeping, paying and feeding armies, and levying taxes. As the
European imperialist age progressed and the military powers extended their hold over other continents and people, the need for a sophisticated public administration grew.
Roots in ancient China
The field of
management
Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a Government agency, government bodies through business administration, Nonprofit studies, nonprofit management, or the political s ...
may have originated in ancient
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
,
[Ewan Ferlie, Laurence E. Lynn, Christopher Pollitt (2005) ''The Oxford Handbook of Public Management'', p.30.] including, possibly, the first highly centralized bureaucratic state, and the earliest (by the second century BC) example of an
meritocracy
Meritocracy (''merit'', from Latin , and ''-cracy'', from Ancient Greek 'strength, power') is the notion of a political system in which economic goods or political power are vested in individual people based on ability and talent, rather than ...
based on
civil service tests.
[Kazin, Edwards, and Rothman (2010), 142. ''One of the oldest examples of a merit-based civil service system existed' in the imperial bureaucracy of China.''
*
*
* ] In regards to public administration, China was considered to be "advanced" compared to the rest of the world up until the end of the 18th century.
Thomas Taylor Meadows
Thomas Taylor Meadows (1815–1868) was a British sinologist. Born in Northern England, after studies in Chinese with Karl Friedrich Neumann at the University of Munich, he became a member of the British diplomatic corps, arriving in Hong Kon ...
, the British consul in
Guangzhou
Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
, argued in his ''Desultory Notes on the Government and People of China'' (1847) that "the long duration of the Chinese empire is solely and altogether owing to the good government which consists in the advancement of men of talent and merit only."
Influenced by the ancient Chinese imperial examination, the
Northcote–Trevelyan Report
The Northcote-Trevelyan Report was a document prepared by Stafford H. Northcote (later to be Chancellor of the Exchequer) and C.E. Trevelyan (then Permanent Secretary at the Treasury) about the British Civil Service. Commissioned in 1853 and ...
of 1854 recommended that recruitment should be on the basis of merit determined through competitive examination, candidates should have a solid general education to enable inter-departmental transfers, and promotion should be through achievement rather than "preferment, patronage, or purchase".
This led to implementation of
Her Majesty's Civil Service
In the United Kingdom, the Civil Service is the permanent bureaucracy or secretariat of Crown employees that supports His Majesty's Government, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government, which is led by a cabinet of ministers chosen ...
as a systematic, meritocratic civil service bureaucracy. Like the British, the development of French bureaucracy was influenced by the Chinese system.
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...
claimed that the Chinese had "perfected moral science" and
François Quesnay
François Quesnay (; ; 4 June 1694 – 16 December 1774) was a French economist and physician of the Physiocratic school. He is known for publishing the " Tableau économique" (Economic Table) in 1758, which provided the foundations of the ideas ...
advocated an economic and political system modeled after that of the Chinese. French civil service examinations adopted in the late 19th century were also heavily based on general cultural studies. These features have been likened to the earlier Chinese model.
Though Chinese administration cannot be traced to any one individual, figures of the
Fa-Jia emphasizing a
merit system
The merit system is the process of promoting and hiring government employees based on their ability to perform a job, rather than on their political connections. It is the opposite of the spoils system.
History
The earliest known example of a ...
, like
Shen Buhai
Shen Buhai (; ) was a Chinese statesman, reformer and diplomat. According to the Shiji, Shen Buhai served as Chancellor of the Han state under Marquis Zhao of Han, for around fifteen years to his natural death in office in 337 BC, ordering it ...
(400–337 BC), may have had the most influence, and could be considered its founders, if they are not valuable as rare pre-modern examples of the abstract theory of administration. Creel writes that, in Shen Buhai, there are the "seeds of the
civil service examination
Civil service examinations are examinations implemented in various countries for recruitment and admission to the civil service. They are intended as a method to achieve an effective, rational public administration on a merit system for recruiti ...
", and that, if one wishes to exaggerate, it would "no doubt be possible to translate Shen Buhai's term Shu, or technique, as 'science'", and argue that he was the first political scientist, though Creel does "not care to go this far".
Europe in the 18th century
In the 18th century,
King Frederick William I of Prussia created professoriates in
Cameralism
Cameralism ( German: ''Kameralismus'') was a German school of public finance, administration and economic management in the 18th and early 19th centuries that aimed at strong management of a centralized economy for the benefit mainly of the ...
in order to train a new class of public administrators. The universities of
Frankfurt an der Oder
Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (, ; Marchian dialects, Central Marchian: ''Frankfort an de Oder,'' ) is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after Potsdam, Cottbus and Brandenburg an der Havel. With a ...
and the
University of Halle
Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public research university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and i ...
were
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
n institutions emphasizing economic and social disciplines, with the goal of societal reform.
Johann Heinrich Gottlob Justi
Johann Heinrich Gottlob von Justi (28 December 1717Jürgen Georg Backhaus, ''The Beginnings of Political Economy: Johann Heinrich Gottlob Von Justi'' (Springer, 2008: ), p. 20 The Political Economy of J.H.G. Justi by Ulrich Adam, p. 24/ref>21 July ...
was a well-known professor of
Cameralism
Cameralism ( German: ''Kameralismus'') was a German school of public finance, administration and economic management in the 18th and early 19th centuries that aimed at strong management of a centralized economy for the benefit mainly of the ...
.
Lorenz von Stein
Lorenz von Stein (18 November 1815 – 23 September 1890) was a German economist, sociologist, and public administration scholar from Eckernförde. As an advisor to Meiji period Japan, his liberal political views influenced the wording of the ...
, an 1855 German professor from Vienna, is considered the founder of the science of public administration in many parts of the world. In the time of Von Stein, public administration was considered a form of administrative law, but Von Stein believed this concept was too restrictive. Von Stein taught that public administration relies on many pre-established disciplines such as
sociology
Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...
, political science,
administrative law
Administrative law is a division of law governing the activities of government agency, executive branch agencies of government. Administrative law includes executive branch rulemaking (executive branch rules are generally referred to as "regul ...
, and
public finance
Public finance refers to the monetary resources available to governments and also to the study of finance within government and role of the government in the economy. Within academic settings, public finance is a widely studied subject in man ...
. He called public administration an integrating science and stated that public administrators should be concerned with both theory and practice. He argued that public administration is a science because knowledge is generated and evaluated according to the scientific method.
In the United States
The father of public administration in the US is considered to be
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...
. He first formally recognized public administration in an 1887 article entitled "
The Study of Administration "The Study of Administration" is an 1887 article by Woodrow Wilson in ''Political Science Quarterly''. It is widely considered a foundational article in the field of public administration, making Wilson one of the field's founding fathers, along wi ...
". The future president wrote that "it is the object of administrative study to discover, first, what government can properly and successfully do, and, secondly, how it can do these proper things with the utmost possible efficiency and at the least possible cost either of money or energy."
[Wilson, Woodrow. June 1887. "]The Study of Administration "The Study of Administration" is an 1887 article by Woodrow Wilson in ''Political Science Quarterly''. It is widely considered a foundational article in the field of public administration, making Wilson one of the field's founding fathers, along wi ...
", ''Political Science Quarterly'' 2.
By the 1920s, scholars of public administration had responded to Wilson's solicitation and textbooks in this field were introduced. Distinguished scholars of that period include
Luther Gulick,
Lyndall Urwick
Lyndall Fownes Urwick (3 March 1891 – 5 December 1983) was a British management consultant and business thinker. He is recognised for integrating the ideas of earlier theorists like Henri Fayol into a comprehensive theory of management admi ...
,
Henri Fayol
Henri Fayol (29 July 1841 – 19 November 1925) was a French mining engineer, mining executive, author and director of mines who developed a general theory of business administration that is often called Fayolism. He and his colleagues developed ...
, and
Frederick Taylor. Taylor argued in ''
The Principles of Scientific Management
''The Principles of Scientific Management'' (1911) is a monograph published by Frederick Winslow Taylor where he laid out his views on principles of scientific management, or industrial era organization and decision theory. Taylor was an American ...
,'' that scientific analysis would lead to the discovery of the "
best way" to do things or carry out an operation. Taylor's technique was introduced to private industrialists, and later to various government organizations.
The
American Society for Public Administration
American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) is a membership association of almost 10,000 professionals in the United States sponsoring conferences and providing professional services primarily to those who study the implementation of gover ...
(ASPA), the leading professional group for public administration was founded in 1939. ASPA sponsors the journal
Public Administration Review
''Public Administration Review'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal the field of public administration. It was established in 1940 and has been one of the top-rated journals in the field. It is the official journal of the American Societ ...
, which was founded in 1940.
The
National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental, non-partisan organization. As a
congressionally chartered national academy
A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, and serves as a public policy advisors, research ...
, its mission is to produce independent research and studies that advance the field of public administration and facilitate the development, adoption, and implementation of solutions to government's most significant challenges.
1940s
The separation of politics and administration advocated by Wilson continues to play a significant role in public administration today. However, the dominance of this dichotomy was challenged by second-generation scholars, beginning in the 1940s.
Luther Gulick's fact-value dichotomy was a key contender for Wilson's proposed
politics-administration dichotomy
The politics-administration dichotomy is a theory that constructs the boundaries of public administration and asserts the normative relationship between elected officials and administrators in a democratic society. The phrase ''politics-administrat ...
. In place of Wilson's first generation split, Gulick advocated a "seamless web of discretion and interaction".
Luther Gulick and
Lyndall Urwick
Lyndall Fownes Urwick (3 March 1891 – 5 December 1983) was a British management consultant and business thinker. He is recognised for integrating the ideas of earlier theorists like Henri Fayol into a comprehensive theory of management admi ...
are two second-generation scholars. Gulick, Urwick, and the new generation of administrators built on the work of contemporary behavioral, administrative, and organizational scholars including
Henri Fayol
Henri Fayol (29 July 1841 – 19 November 1925) was a French mining engineer, mining executive, author and director of mines who developed a general theory of business administration that is often called Fayolism. He and his colleagues developed ...
,
Fredrick Winslow Taylor
Frederick Winslow Taylor (March 20, 1856 – March 21, 1915) was an American mechanical engineer. He was widely known for his methods to improve industrial efficiency. He was one of the first management consultants. In 1909, Taylor summed up h ...
, Paul Appleby, Frank Goodnow, and Willam Willoughby. The new generation of organizational theories no longer relied upon logical assumptions and generalizations about human nature like classical and enlightened theorists.
Gulick developed a comprehensive, generic theory of organization that emphasized the scientific method, efficiency, professionalism, structural reform, and executive control. Gulick summarized the duties of administrators with an acronym;
POSDCORB
POSDCORB is an acronym widely used in the field of management and public administration that reflects the classic view of organizational theory. It appeared most prominently in a 1937 paper by Luther Gulick (in a set edited by himself and Lyndall ...
, which stands for planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting, and budgeting. Fayol developed a systematic, 14-point treatment of private management. Second-generation theorists drew upon private management practices for administrative sciences. A single, generic management theory bleeding the borders between the private and the public sector was thought to be possible. With the general theory, the administrative theory could be focused on governmental organizations. The mid-1940s theorists challenged Wilson and Gulick. The politics-administration dichotomy remained the center of criticism.
1950s - 1970s
During the 1950s, the United States experienced prolonged prosperity and solidified its place as a world leader. Public Administration experienced a kind of heyday due to the successful war effort and successful post-war reconstruction in Western Europe and Japan. Government was popular as was President Eisenhower. In the 1960s and 1970s, the government itself came under fire as ineffective, inefficient, and largely a wasted effort. The costly
American intervention in Vietnam along with domestic scandals including the bugging of Democratic Party headquarters (the 1974
Watergate
The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Nixon's resignation in 1974, in August of that year. It revol ...
scandal) are two examples of self-destructive government behavior that alienated citizens.
There was a call by citizens for efficient administration to replace ineffective, wasteful bureaucracy. Public administration would have to distance itself from politics to answer this call and remain effective. Elected officials supported these reforms. The
Hoover Commission
The Hoover Commission, officially named the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government, was a body appointed by President of the United States, President Harry S. Truman in 1947 to recommend administrative changes in the ...
, chaired by University of Chicago professor
Louis Brownlow
Louis Brownlow (August 29, 1879 – September 27, 1963) was an American author, political scientist, and consultant in the area of public administration. As chairman of the Committee on Administrative Management (better known as the Brownlow Comm ...
, examines the reorganization of government. Brownlow subsequently founded the Public Administration Service (PAS) at the university, an organization that provided consulting services to all levels of government until the 1970s.
Concurrently, after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the entire concept of public administration expanded to include policymaking and analysis, thus the study of "administrative policy making and analysis" was introduced and enhanced into the government decision-making bodies. Later on, the human factor became a predominant concern and emphasis in the study of public administration. This period witnessed the development and inclusion of other social sciences knowledge, predominantly, psychology, anthropology, and sociology, into the study of public administration (Jeong, 2007).
Henceforth, the emergence of scholars such as
Fritz Morstein Marx
Fritz Morstein Marx or F. M. Marx (February 23, 1900 – October 9, 1969) was a German-American political and administrative scientist.
History
Fritz Marx was born in Hamburg on February 23, 1900. He studied law after a short military service i ...
, with his book ''The Elements of Public Administration'' (1946), Paul H. Appleby ''Policy and Administration'' (1952), Frank Marini 'Towards a New Public Administration' (1971), and others that have contributed positively in these endeavors.
Stimulated by events during the 1960s such as an active civil rights movement, the Vietnam War and war protests, assassinations of a president and civil rights leaders, and an active women's movement, public administration changed course somewhat. Landmark legislation such as the
Equal Pay Act of 1963
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 is a United States labor law amending the Fair Labor Standards Act, aimed at abolishing wage disparity based on sex (see gender pay gap). It was signed into law on June 10, 1963, by John F. Kennedy as part of his New F ...
and the
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...
also gave public administrators new responsibilities. These events were manifest in the public administration profession through the new public administration movement. "Under the stimulating patronage of Dwight Waldo, some of the best of the younger generation of scholars challenged the doctrine they had received". These new scholars demanded more policy-oriented public administrators that incorporated "four themes: relevance, values, equity, and change". All of these themes would encourage more participation among women and minorities.
[Shields, P. M., & Elias, N. M. (2022). Introduction to the Handbook on Gender and Public Administration. In Shields, P. and Elias, N. (Eds.)Handbook on Gender and Public Administration. pp.1 – 19. Edward Elgar Publishing. https://www.elgaronline.com/view/edcoll/9781789904727/9781789904727.00008.xml]
Stimulated by the events of the '60s, the 1970s brought significant change to the American Society for Public Administration. Racial and ethnic minorities and women members organized to seek greater participation. Eventually, the Conference on Minority Public Administrators and the Section for Women in Public Administration were established.
1980s - 1990s
In the late 1980s, yet another generation of public administration theorists began to displace the last. The new theory, which came to be called
New Public Management, was proposed by David Osborne and Ted Gaebler in their book ''Reinventing Government''. The new model advocated the use of
private sector
The private sector is the part of the economy which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government.
Employment
The private sector employs most of the workfo ...
-style models, organizational ideas and values to improve the efficiency and service-orientation of the public sector. During the
Clinton Administration
Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following his victory over Republican in ...
(1993–2001), Vice President
Al Gore
Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...
adopted and reformed federal agencies using NPM approaches. In the 1990s, new public management became prevalent throughout the bureaucracies of the US, the UK, and to a lesser extent, in Canada. The original public management theories have roots attributed to policy analysis, according to
Richard Elmore
Richard Frazier Elmore (March 2, 1944 – February 2021) was the Gregory R. Anrig Research Professor of Educational Leadership in the Harvard Graduate School of Education
The Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) is the education schoo ...
in his 1986 article published in the "
Journal of Policy Analysis and Management
The ''Journal of Policy Analysis and Management'' (''JPAM'') is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering issues and practices in policy analysis and public management. It was established in 1981 and contains books reviews and a departme ...
".
Some modern authors define NPM as a combination of splitting large bureaucracies into smaller, more fragmented agencies, encouraging competition between different public agencies, and encouraging competition between public agencies and private firms and using economic incentives lines (e.g., performance pay for senior executives or user-pay models). NPM treats individuals as "customers" or "clients" (in the private sector sense), rather than as citizens.
Some critics argue that the New Public Management concept of treating people as "customers" rather than "citizens" is an inappropriate borrowing from the private sector model, because businesses see customers as a means to an end (profit), rather than as the proprietors of government (the owners), opposed to merely the customers of a business (the patrons). In New Public Management, people are viewed as economic units not as democratic participants which is the hazard of linking an MBA (business administration, economic and employer-based model) too closely with the public administration (governmental,
public good
In economics, a public good (also referred to as a social good or collective good)Oakland, W. H. (1987). Theory of public goods. In Handbook of public economics (Vol. 2, pp. 485–535). Elsevier. is a commodity, product or service that is bo ...
) sector. Nevertheless, the NPM model (one of four described by Elmore in 1986, including the "generic model") is still widely accepted at multiple levels of government (e.g., municipal, state/province, and federal) and in many OECD nations.
In the late 1990s, Janet and Robert Denhardt proposed a new public services model in response to the dominance of NPM. A successor to NPM is
digital era governance The first idea of a digital administrative law was born in Italy in 1978 by Giovanni Duni and was developed in 1991 with the name teleadministration.
In the public administration debate about new public management (NPM), the concept of digital e ...
, focusing on themes of reintegrating government responsibilities, needs-based holism (executing duties in cursive ways), and digitalization (exploiting the transformational capabilities of modern IT and digital storage).
One example of the deployment of DEG is
openforum.com.au, an Australian not-for-profit e-Democracy project that invites politicians, senior public servants, academics, business people, and other key stakeholders to engage in high-level policy debate. Another example is Brunei's Information Department in deploying Social Media technology to improve its Digital Governance process.
[Omar, A. M. (2020). Digital Era Governance and Social Media: The Case of Information Department Brunei. In Employing Recent Technologies for Improved Digital Governance (pp. 19–35). IGI Global.] The book chapter work concludes that digital dividends can be secured through the effective application of Social Media within the framework of Digital Era Governance.
Another new public service model is what has been called New Public Governance, an approach that includes a centralization of power; an increased number, role, and influence of partisan-political staff; personal-politicization of appointments to the senior public service; and, the assumption that the public service is promiscuously partisan for the government of the day.
In the mid-1980s, the goal of community programs in the United States was often represented by terms such as independent living,
community integration
Community integration, while diversely defined, is a term encompassing the full participation of all people in community life. It has specifically referred to the integration of people with disabilities into US society from the local to the nationa ...
, inclusion, community participation,
deinstitutionalization
Deinstitutionalisation (or deinstitutionalization) is the process of replacing long-stay psychiatric hospitals with less isolated community mental health services for those diagnosed with a mental disorder or developmental disability. In the 195 ...
, and civil rights. Thus, the same public policy (and public administration) was to apply to all citizens, inclusive of disability. However, by the 1990s, categorical state systems were strengthened in the United States (Racino, in press, 2014), and efforts were made to introduce more disability content into the public policy curricula with disability public policy (and administration) distinct fields in their own right. Behaviorists have also dominated "intervention practice" (generally not the province of public administration) in recent years, believing that they are in opposition to generic public policy (termed
ecological systems theory
Ecological systems theory is a broad term used to capture the theoretical contributions of developmental psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner. Bronfenbrenner developed the foundations of the theory throughout his career, published a major statement of ...
, of the late
Urie Bronfenbrenner
Urie Bronfenbrenner (April 29, 1917, Moscow – September 25, 2005) was a Russian-born American psychologist best known for using a contextual framework to better understand human development. This framework, broadly referred to as 'ecological sys ...
).
Increasingly, public policy academics and practitioners have utilized the theoretical concepts of
political economy
Political or comparative economy is a branch of political science and economics studying economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and national economies) and their governance by political systems (e.g. law, institutions, and government). Wi ...
to explain policy outcomes such as the success or failure of reform efforts or the persistence of suboptimal outcomes.
Women's civic clubs and the Settlement movement
Contemporary scholars
[Shields, P. M., & Elias, N. M. (2022). Introduction to the ''Handbook on Gender and Public Administration''. In Shields, P. and Elias, N. (Eds.)''Handbook on Gender and Public Administration''. pp.1 – 19. Edward Elgar Publishing. https://www.elgaronline.com/view/edcoll/9781789904727/9781789904727.00008.xml][Stivers, C. (2000). ''Bureau Men, Settlement Women: Constructing Public Administration in the Progressive Era''. University Press of Kansas.] are reclaiming a companion public administration origin story that includes the contributions of women. This has become known as the "alternative" or "settlement" model of public administration.
During the 19th century upper-class women in the United States and Europe organized voluntary associations that worked to mitigate the excesses of urbanization and industrialization in their towns. Eventually, these voluntary associations became networks that were able to spearhead changes to policy and administration. These women's civic clubs worked to make cities and workplaces safer (cleaner streets, water, sewage, and workplace. As well as workplace regulation) and more suited to the needs of their children (playgrounds, libraries, juvenile courts, child labor laws). These were administrative and policy spaces ignored by their fathers and husbands. The work of these clubs was amplified by newly organized non-profit organizations (
Settlement Houses), usually situated in industrialized city slums filled with immigrants.
[Shields, P. (2022). The origins of the settlement model of public administration. In Shields, P. and Elias, N. (Eds.), ''Handbook on Gender and Public Administration''. Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, USA, Edward Elgar Publishing.][Burnier, D. (2021). Hiding in plain sight: recovering public administration's lost Legacy of social justice, ''Administrative Theory & Praxis'', https://doi.org/10.1080/10841806.2021.1891796.]
Reforms that emerged from the
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...
(e.g., income for the old, unemployment insurance, aid for dependent children and the disabled, child labor prohibitions and limits on hours worked, etc.) were supported by leaders of the Settlement movement. Richard Stillman credits
Jane Addams
Laura Jane Addams (September 6, 1860May 21, 1935) was an American Settlement movement, settlement activist, Social reform, reformer, social worker, sociologist, public administrator, philosopher, and author. She was a leader in the history of s ...
, a key leader of the Settlement movement and a pioneer of public administration with "conceiving and spawning" the modern welfare state. The accomplishments of the Settlement movement and their conception of public administration were ignored in the early literature of public administration. The alternative model of Public Administration was invisible or buried for about 100 years until Camilla Stivers published ''Bureau Men and Settlement Women'' in 2000.
[Stivers, C. (2000). Bureau Men, Settlement Women: Constructing Public Administration in the Progressive Era. University Press of Kansas.]
Settlement workers explicitly fought for social justice as they campaigned for reform.
They sought policy changes that would improve the lives of immigrants, women, children, sick, old, and impoverished people. Both municipal housekeeping and industrial citizenship applied an ethic of care informed by the feminine experience of policy and administration. While they saw the relevance of the traditional public administration values (efficiency, effectiveness, etc.) and practices of their male reformist counterparts, they also emphasized social justice and social equity. Jane Addams, for example, was a founder of the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...
(NAACP).
= The Settlement Model of Public Administration
=
The Settlement movement and its leaders such as Jane Addams,
Julia Lathrop
Julia Clifford Lathrop (June 29, 1858 – April 15, 1932) was an Americans, American social reformer in the area of education, social policy, and children's welfare. As director of the United States Children's Bureau from 1912 to 1922, she was th ...
, and
Florence Kelley
Florence Molthrop Kelley (September 12, 1859 – February 17, 1932) was an American social and political reformer who coined the term wage abolitionism. Her work against sweatshops and for the minimum wage, eight-hour workdays, and children's ...
were instrumental in crafting the alternative, feminine inspired, model of public administration.
This settlement model of public administration, had two interrelated components – municipal housekeeping and industrial citizenship.
Municipal housekeeping called for cities to be run like a caring home, the city should be conceived as an extension of the home where families could be safe and children cared for. Clean streets, clean water, playgrounds, educational curricular reform, and juvenile courts, are examples of reforms associated with this movement. Industrial citizenship focused on the problems and risks of labor force participation in a laissez-faire, newly industrialized economy. Reforms that mitigated workplace problems such as child labor, unsanitary workplaces, excessive work schedules, risks of industrial accidents, and old age poverty were the focus of these efforts. Organized settlement women's reform efforts led to workplace safety laws and inspections. Settlement reformers went on to serve as local, state, and federal administrators. Jane Addams was a garbage inspector, Florence Kelley served as the chief factory inspector for the State of Illinois, Julia Lathrop was the first director of the
Women's Bureau
The United States Women's Bureau (WB) is an agency of the United States government within the United States Department of Labor. The Women's Bureau works to create parity for women in the labor force by conducting research and policy analysis, to ...
and
Francis Perkins
Frances Perkins (born Fannie Coralie Perkins; April 10, 1880 – May 14, 1965) was an American workers-rights advocate who served as the fourth United States Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945, the longest serving in that position. A member o ...
was Secretary of Labor during the F. Roosevelt Administration
Branches
Core branches
In academia, the field of public administration consists of several sub-fields. Scholars have proposed several different sets of sub-fields. One of the proposed models uses five "pillars":
[Shafritz, J.M., A.C. Hyde. 2007. ''Classics of Public Administration''. Wadsworth: Boston.]
*
Organizational theory in public administration is the study of the structure of governmental entities and the many particulars inculcated in them.
*
Ethics in public administration serves as a normative approach to decision making.
*
Policy analysis
Policy analysis or public policy analysis is a technique used in the public administration sub-field of political science to enable civil servants, nonprofit organizations, and others to examine and evaluate the available options to implement th ...
and
program evaluation
Program evaluation is a systematic method for collecting, analyzing, and using information to answer questions about projects, policies and programs, particularly about their effectiveness and efficiency.
In the public, private, and voluntar ...
serves as an empirical approach to decision making.
* Public budgeting and public finance
**
Public budgeting is the activity within a government that seeks to allocate scarce resources among unlimited demands.
**
Public finance
Public finance refers to the monetary resources available to governments and also to the study of finance within government and role of the government in the economy. Within academic settings, public finance is a widely studied subject in man ...
is the study of the role of the government in the economy.
It is the branch of economics that assesses the
government revenue
Government revenue or national revenue is money received by a government from Tax revenue, taxes and Non-tax revenue, non-tax sources to enable it, assuming full resource employment, to undertake non-inflationary public expenditure. Government re ...
and
government expenditure
Government spending or expenditure includes all government consumption, investment, and transfer payments. In national income accounting, the acquisition by governments of goods and services for current use, to directly satisfy the individual o ...
of the public authorities and the adjustment of one or the other to achieve desirable effects and avoid undesirable ones.
*
Human resource management
Human resource management (HRM) is the strategic and coherent approach to the effective and efficient management of people in a company or organization such that they help their business gain a competitive advantage. It is designed to maximize e ...
is an in-house structure that ensures that public service staffing is done in an unbiased, ethical and values-based manner. The basic functions of the HR system are employee benefits, employee health care, compensation, and many more (e.g., human rights,
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ...
). The executives managing the HR director and other key departmental personnel are also part of the public administration system.
Other branches
*
Nonprofit management is research into and the practice of operating nonprofit organizations and their effects.
*
Emergency management
Emergency management (also Disaster management) is a science and a system charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actu ...
is the managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce
vulnerability
Vulnerability refers to "the quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally." The understanding of social and environmental vulnerability, as a methodological approach, involves ...
to hazards and cope with disasters.
*
Information Technology in Public Administration
Information is an abstract concept that refers to something which has the power to inform. At the most fundamental level, it pertains to the interpretation (perhaps formally) of that which may be sensed, or their abstractions. Any natur ...
Examines the role of IT in enhancing public sector operations, including e-governance and digital service delivery.
https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/257008
Academic field
Universities can offer undergraduate and graduate degrees in Public Administration or Government, Political Science, and International Affairs with a concentration or specialization in Public Policy and Administration. Graduate degrees include the
Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree, a
Master of Arts (MA) or
Master of Science (MS) in Public Administration (for the management tract), and the
Master of Public Policy (MPP), a Master of Arts (MA), or a Master of Science (MS) in Public Policy (for the research tract)
In the United States, the academic field of public administration draws heavily on political science and administrative law. Some MPA programs include economics courses to give students a background in micro-economic issues (markets, rationing mechanisms, etc.) and macroeconomic issues (e.g., national debt). Scholars such as
John A. Rohr
John Anthony Rohr (July 31, 1934 – August 10, 2011)''Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014''. Social Security Administration. was an American political scientist who was Professor Emeritus at the Center for Public Administration and Policy at V ...
write of a long history behind the constitutional legitimacy of government bureaucracy.
One public administration scholar, Donald Kettl, argues that "public administration sits in a disciplinary backwater", because "for the last generation, scholars have sought to save or replace it with fields of study like implementation, public management, and formal bureaucratic theory".
Kettl states that "public administration, as a subfield within political science ... is struggling to define its role within the discipline".
He notes two problems with public administration: it "has seemed methodologically to lag behind" and "the field's theoretical work too often seems not to define it"-indeed, "some of the most interesting recent ideas in public administration have come from outside the field".
Public administration theory
Public administration theory refers to the study and analysis of the principles, concepts, and models that guide the practice of public administration. It provides a framework for understanding the complexities and challenges of managing public ...
is the domain in which discussions of the meaning and purpose of government, the role of bureaucracy in supporting democratic governments, budgets, governance, and public affairs take place.
Comparative public administration
Comparative public administration or CPA is defined as the study of administrative systems in a comparative fashion or the study of public administration in other countries. Today, there is a section of the American Society for Public Administration that specializes in comparative administration. It is responsible for the annual
.
There have been several issues that have hampered the development of comparative public administration, including the major differences between Western countries and developing countries; the lack of curriculum on this sub-field in public administration programs; and the lack of success in developing theoretical models that can be scientifically tested. Even though CPA is a weakly formed field as a whole, this sub-field of public administration is an attempt at cross-cultural analysis, a "quest for patterns and regularities of administrative action and behavior." CPA is an integral part to the analysis of public administration techniques. The process of comparison allows for more widely applicable policies to be tested in a variety of situations.
Comparative public administration lacks a curriculum, which has prevented it from becoming a major field of study. This lack of understanding of the basic concepts that build this field's foundation has ultimately led to its lack of use. For example, William Waugh, a professor at Georgia State University has stated "Comparative studies are difficult because of the necessity to provide enough information on the socio-political context of national administrative structures and processes for readers to understand why there are differences and similarities."
He also asserts, "Although there is sizable literature on comparative public administration it is scattered and dated."
Bachelor's degrees, academic concentrations, and academic minors
Universities offer undergraduate level Bachelor's degrees in Public Administration or Government, Political Science, and International Affairs with an academic concentration or specialization in Public Policy and Administration. At several universities undergraduate-level public administration and non-profit management education is packaged together (along with international relations and security studies) in a degree in political science.
Master's degrees
Some public administration programs have similarities to
business administration
Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization.
Overview
The administration of a business includes the performance o ...
programs, in cases where the students from both the Master's in Public Administration (MPA) and Master's in Business Administration (MBA) programs take many of the same courses.
Master of Business Administration
A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...
(MBA) is a postgraduate degree focused on business principles, management, and leadership skills, typically aimed at preparing students for managerial roles in the private sector. Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a postgraduate degree focused on the theory and practice of public administration, management, and policy.
Doctoral degrees
There are two types of doctoral degrees in public administration: the Doctor of Public Administration (DPA) and the
Ph.D. in public administration. The DPA is an applied-research doctoral degree in the field of public administration, focusing on the practice of public administration more than on its theoretical aspects. The Ph.D. is typically sought by individuals aiming to become professors of public administration or researchers. Individuals pursuing a Ph.D. in public administration often pursue more theoretical dissertation topics than their DPA counterparts.
Notable scholars
Notable scholars of public administration have come from a wide range of fields. In the period before public administration existed as its own independent sub-discipline of political science, scholars contributing to the field came from economics, sociology, management, political science, legal—specifically administrative law—and other related fields. More recently, scholars from public administration and public policy have contributed important studies and theories.
Notable Institutions
For notable institutions, see the Wikipedia article on
public policy school
A public policy school or school of public affairs is typically a university program, institution, or professional school of public policy, public administration, political science, international relations, security studies, management, urban pla ...
s.
International organizations
There are a number of international public administration organizations. The Commonwealth Association of Public Administration and Management (CAPAM) includes the 56 member states of the Commonwealth from India and the UK to Nauru. The oldest organization is the
International Institute of Administrative Sciences
Created in 1930, the International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS) is an International Association with Scientific Purpose whose seat is in Brussels. As a non-governmental international organisation its activities are centred on the s ...
(IIAS), based in Brussels, Belgium. Another body, the International Committee of the US-based
(NASPAA), has developed several relationships around the world. They include sub regional and National forums like CLAD, INPAE and NISPAcee, APSA, ASPA.
The Center for Latin American Administration for Development (CLAD), based in Caracas, Venezuela, is a regional network of schools of public administration set up by the governments in Latin America.
NISPAcee is a network of experts, scholars and practitioners who work in the field of public administration in central Europe and Eastern Europe, including the Russian Federation and the Caucasus and Central Asia.
Eastern Regional Organization for Public Administration (EROPA) is a state-membership based organization, open to other organizations and individuals, headquartered in the Philippines with centers and membership organized around the Asia Pacific region. EROPA organizes annual conferences and publishes a journal ''Asian Review of Public Administration'' (ARPA). It has several centers in the region, and assists in networking experts with its members.
Public management
"Public management" is an approach to government administration and nonprofit administration that resembles or draws on private-sector management and business techniques and approaches. These business approaches often aim to maximize efficiency and effectiveness and provide improved customer service. A contrast is drawn with the study of public administration, which emphasizes the social and cultural drivers of government that many contend (e.g.,
Graham T. Allison
Graham Tillett Allison Jr. (born March 23, 1940) is an American political scientist and the Douglas Dillon Professor of Government at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He is known for his contributions in the late 19 ...
and
Charles Goodsell
Charles True Goodsell (July 23, 1932 – November 24, 2024) was an American academic and writer who was Professor Emeritus at Virginia Tech's Center for Public Administration and Policy. He was perhaps best known for his volume ''The Case for ...
) makes it different from the private sector.
A positive and negative definition of public management have been proposed. The positive approach as: "praxeological and rightful process of public service for citizens for the sake of their and following generations good through strengthening mutual relationships, competitiveness of national economy and practical increase of social utility through effective allocation of public resources".
Negative approach as: "Fiction, whose aim is the possibility of temporal or permanent appropriation of public goods for the implementation of the particular interests of a narrow social group". Studying and teaching about public management are widely practiced in
developed nation
A developed country, or advanced country, is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy, and advanced technological infrastructure relative to other less industrialized nations. Most commonly, the criteria for eval ...
s.
Organizations
Many entities study public management in particular, in various countries, including:
* In the US, the American Society for Public Administration. Indiana University Bloomington
* In Canada, th
Institute of Public Administration of Canada the
Observatoire de l'Administration publique', and various projects of the
Federation of Canadian Municipalities
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM, ''Fédération canadienne des municipalités'') is an advocacy group representing over 2000 Canadian municipalities. It is an organization with no formal power but significant ability to influence ...
and
Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada
Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (HICC) () (formerly Infrastructure Canada or INFC)''Infrastructure Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Office of Infrastructure of Canada (). is a dep ...
* In the UK
Institute of Local Government Studies INLOGOV,
Newcastle Business School
Newcastle Business School is a business school in the north of England, based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. It is part of the Faculty of Business and Law at Northumbria University
Northumbria University (legally the University of Northumb ...
,
Warwick Business School
Warwick Business School (WBS) is the business school of the University of Warwick and an academic department within the Faculty of Social Sciences. It was established in 1967 as the School of Industrial and Business Studies. The business school ...
, the
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...
,
University College London
University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...
, the
UK local democracy project European E-government projects are best practice exchanges among municipal governments. Arising out of a "national strategy for local e-government, the 22 National Projects offer councils proven, cost effective, standard products, services and imp ...
and
London Health Observatory.
* In the Netherlands,
Erasmus University Rotterdam
Erasmus University Rotterdam ( ; abbreviated as EUR) is a public research university located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The university is named after Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, a 15th-century Christian humanist and theologian.
Erasmus M ...
* In Australia, th
Institute of Public Administration Australia
* In France, the , the
Sciences Po
Sciences Po () or Sciences Po Paris, also known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies (), is a public research university located in Paris, France, that holds the status of ''grande école'' and the legal status of . The university's unde ...
School of Public Affairs, the
INET
Inet was an electronic trading platform based on a system developed by Instinet in the 1970s that merged with Island ECN in 2002 and was subsequently acquired by NASDAQ in 2005.
Inet, like other electronic communication networks, was an order-pa ...
, National Institute of Territorial Studies, and the , Institute of Public Management and Territorial Governance in Aix-en-Provence, Aix-Marseille University.
* In Belgium, th
Public Governance Institute KU Leuven
KU Leuven (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. Founded in 1425, it is the oldest university in Belgium and the oldest university in the Low Countries.
In addition to its mai ...
.
* In Germany, the
German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer
The German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer (German: ''Deutsche Universität für Verwaltungswissenschaften Speyer''; sometimes referred to as Speyer University), is a national graduate school for administrative sciences and public m ...
, the
Hertie School of Governance
The Hertie School (until 2019 Hertie School of Governance) is a German private, independent graduate school for governance (public policy, international affairs and data science) located in Berlin. Hertie School is accredited to confer master's ...
, the Bachelor and Master o
Politics, Administration & International Relations (PAIR)at the
Zeppelin University Friedrichshafen, and the Bachelor and Master of Public Policy & Management and the Executive Public Management Master of
University of Potsdam
The University of Potsdam is a public university in Potsdam, capital of the state of Brandenburg, northeastern Germany.
The university is mainly situated across three campuses in the city. Some faculty buildings are part of the New Palace o ...
.
* In Switzerland, the
University of Geneva
The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public university, public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a Theology, theological seminary. It rema ...
and the
Swiss Graduate School of Public Administration (IDHEAP).
* In Italy, the
SDA Bocconi School of Management
SDA Bocconi School of Management (SDA standing for Scuola di Direzione Aziendale) was founded in 1971 and is the graduate business school of Bocconi University in Milan and Rome, Italy. SDA Bocconi is Triple accreditation, triple accredited by t ...
, the graduate business school of
Bocconi University
Bocconi University or Università Bocconi (formally known in Italian language, Italian as ''Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi'' – Luigi Bocconi Commercial University) is a private university in Milan, Italy. The university is consistently ...
in Milan.
* In Cyprus, the
Cyprus International Institute of Management
CIIM - The Cyprus International Institute of Management is a European business school with three campuses, one in Nicosia and two in Limassol, Cyprus. The For-profibusinessschool is accredited by the Cyprus Ministry of Education & Culture. The scho ...
or CIIM.
* In Ireland, the Institute of Public Administration, Dublin.
* In South Africa,
Regenesys Business School
Regenesys is a private college based in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Regenesys Group includes Regenesys Business School, Regenesys School of Public Management, Regenesys School of Law, and School of Technology. The group has campuses and of ...
through the Regenesys School of Public Management and MANCOSA.
Comparative public management, through
government performance auditing Government performance auditing focuses on improving how governments provide programs and services. While there is no one universally agreed upon definition, there are key definitions which capture the scope of government performance auditing. Acc ...
, examines the efficiency and effectiveness of two or more governments.
See also
*
Administration (government)
The term administration, as used in the context of government, differs according to the jurisdiction under which it operates. In general terms, the administration can be described as a decision-making body.
United States
In Americans, American ...
*
Administrative discretion
In public administration, administrative discretion refers to the flexible exercising of judgment and decision making allowed to public administrators. Regulatory agencies have the power to exercise this type of discretion in their day-to-day activ ...
*
Budgeting
A budget is a calculation plan, usually but not always financial plan, financial, for a defined accounting period, period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including tim ...
*
Bureaucracy
Bureaucracy ( ) is a system of organization where laws or regulatory authority are implemented by civil servants or non-elected officials (most of the time). Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments ...
*
Civil society
Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.[Community services
Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community contributing to a noble cause. In many cases, people doing community service are compensated in other ways, such as gettin ...]
**
Max Weber
Maximilian Carl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German Sociology, sociologist, historian, jurist, and political economy, political economist who was one of the central figures in the development of sociology and the social sc ...
*
Doctor of Public Administration
The Doctor of Public Administration (D.P.A.) is a terminal applied-research doctoral degree in the field of public administration
(a part of public service). The D.P.A. requires significant coursework beyond the masters level and a dissertatio ...
*
List of Public Administration Journals
This is a List of public administration journals presenting representative academic journals in the field of public administration.
{{compact ToC, side=yes, top=yes, num=yes
A
*'' American Review of Public Administration''
*'' Administration ...
*
List of public administration schools
This is an incomplete list of public administration and public policy schools, colleges and faculties; divided by country.
International
* European Institute of Public Administration
*Monterey Institute of International Studies at Middlebury Col ...
*
Master of Public Administration
A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the ...
*
Municipal government
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
*
Official
An official is someone who holds an office (function or Mandate (politics), mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual Office, working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (eithe ...
*
Politics
Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...
*
Professional administration
Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization.
Overview
The administration of a business includes the performance or m ...
* Public policy
*
Policy Studies
*
Public policy schools
A public policy school or school of public affairs is typically a university program, institution, or professional school of public policy, public administration, political science, international relations, security studies, management, urban pla ...
*
Teleadministration {{Short description, Early usage of electronic documents in the legal system
Teleadministration is based on the concept that documents in electronic format have legal value. Administrative informatics is not new, but for many years it was merely in ...
*
Theories of administration
Public administration theory refers to the study and analysis of the principles, concepts, and models that guide the practice of public administration. It provides a framework for understanding the complexities and challenges of managing public ...
*
The Study of Administration "The Study of Administration" is an 1887 article by Woodrow Wilson in ''Political Science Quarterly''. It is widely considered a foundational article in the field of public administration, making Wilson one of the field's founding fathers, along wi ...
Societies
* International Institute of Administrative Sciences
* American Society for Public Administration
*
Chinese Public Administration Society
Chinese Public Administration Society (CPAS) is a nationwide academic institution, whose vocation is specialized in the research of Business administration, administrative theories and practices, development of Public administration, administrativ ...
*
Dutch Association for Public Administration
The Vereniging voor Bestuurskunde (Dutch Association for Public Administration) was established in 1973 as a platform for people interested in the field of public administration. It aims to give people the opportunity to gain knowledge about develo ...
*
Indian Institute of Public Administration
The Indian Institute of Public Administration was established in 1954 and is a research and training organization under the Ministry of Personnel of the Government of India. It is engaged in training and research in Public Administration and Gov ...
*
Joint University Council of the Applied Social Sciences
The Joint University Council of Applied Social Sciences (JUC) is the UK learned society for public and social administration. The JUC was founded at a meeting at London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science ...
*
Korea Institute of Public Administration
The Korea Institute of Public Administration (KIPA) is a government-sponsored research institute in South Korea, established in October 1991. They do research not just on current issues of public administration but historical ones as well, as in 2 ...
*
Royal Institute of Public Administration
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family or royalty
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Roya ...
Public management academic resources
*
Public Policy and Administration
''Public Policy and Administration'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal that covers the field of public administration. The editors-in-chief are Alessandro Sancino (The Open University), and Edoardo Ongaro (The Open University). It was ...
, , (electronic) (print),
SAGE Publications
Sage Publishing, formerly SAGE Publications, is an American independent academic publishing company, founded in 1965 in New York City by Sara Miller McCune and now based in the Newbury Park neighborhood of Thousand Oaks, California.
Sage ...
and Joint University Council of the Applied Social Sciences
* International Journal of Public Sector Management, , Emerald Group Publishing
* Public Management Review, (electronic) (paper)
Routledge
Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...
* Public Works Management & Policy, (electronic) (paper),
SAGE Publications
Sage Publishing, formerly SAGE Publications, is an American independent academic publishing company, founded in 1965 in New York City by Sara Miller McCune and now based in the Newbury Park neighborhood of Thousand Oaks, California.
Sage ...
*
Public Administration and Development
''Public Administration and Development'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal which covers practice of public administration at the local, regional, national and international levels where it is directed to managing development processes in low ...
, ,
Wiley (publisher)
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., commonly known as Wiley (), is an American multinational publishing company that focuses on academic publishing and instructional materials. The company was founded in 1807 and produces books, journals, and encyclop ...
Notes
References
*
Further reading
* Dubois, H.F.W. & Fattore, G. (2009), 'Definitions and typologies in public administration research: the case of decentralization', International Journal of Public Administration, 32(8): 704–27.
* Jeong Chun Hai @Ibrahim, & Nor Fadzlina Nawi. (2007). ''Principles of Public Administration: An Introduction.'' Kuala Lumpur: Karisma Publications.
* Smith, Kevin B. and Licari, Michael J. (2006) ''Public Administration – Power and Politics in the Fourth Branch of Government'', LA: Roxbury Pub. Co.
* White, Jay D. and Guy B. Adams. ''Research in public administration: reflections on theory and practice''. 1994.
* Donald Menzel and Harvey White (eds) 2011. ''The State of Public Administration: Issues, Challenges and Opportunity''. New York: M. E. Sharpe.
Public management
* Janicke, M. (1990). ''State Failure''. Cambridge: Polity Press.
* Kanter, R. M. (1985). ''The Change Masters: Corporate Entrepreneurs at Work''. Hemel Hempstead: Unwin Paperbacks.
* Lane, R. E. (1991). ''The Market Experience''. New York: Cambridge University Press.
* Lynn, L. E. Jr. (1996). "Public Management as Art, Science, and Profession." Chatham House, CQ Press.
* Lynn, L. E. Jr. (2006). "Public Management: Old and New." Routledge.
* Raczkowski, K. (2016). "Public Management: Theory and Practice." Springer
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Public Administration
Management education
Public policy
Subfields of political science