PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

What is Public Administration?

Abstract

Public administration, often termed "civil service" or "civil administration," is the role of powerful interests in the execution of policy. One thesis is that, since public administrators are not elected, they have more freedom to engage with powerful interests than do elected officials, who are in the media's eye.

Table of Contents

Introduction4

Interest Groups5

Judiciary5

Behavior5

Branch Mixing6

Hume's empiricism6

The impact of Hume's empiricism8

Hume's scepticism9

The impact of Hume's scepticism12

Hume's constitutionalism15

The impact of Hume's constitutionalism17

Conclusion19

References20

What is Public Administration?

Introduction

Public administration, often termed "civil service" or "civil administration," remains a blank spot for most Americans. However, academic research into public administration is already substantial and growing, and it promises to remain a rewarding field for economists, sociologists, political scientists and historians.

While David Hume is not widely cited in the public administration literature, Hume's thought has indirectly influenced public administration (Andrews, Anwar, 2005). Hume's ideas are a creative mix of empiricism, a belief that all knowledge derives from our experience rather than our reason, and scepticism, a questioning of the reliability of our knowledge even when it is derived from experience. While his empiricism has indirectly, through its influence on modern philosophy, significantly contributed to empiricist ways of thinking within public administration, his scepticism may have contributed to critiques of these ways of thinking. However, Hume's most important legacy for the practice of American public administration may be neither his empiricism nor his scepticism. Rather his political writings on constitutionalism may be more significant.

Interest Groups

A very common area of research in public administration is the role of powerful interests in the execution of policy. One thesis is that, since public administrators are not elected, they have more freedom to engage with powerful interests than do elected officials, who are in the media's eye. The basic research issue could be the extent to which powerful interests, such as bankers or environmentalists, affect the work of public administrators.

Judiciary

The legislative process is about framing law. The executive branch (which includes the civil administration) is about carrying out the law. The courts are about interpreting the law. At least this is the theory. But some researchers have studied how the law is either enhanced or distorted by the interference of the courts in the carrying out of policy.

Behavior

Bureaucrats at the highest level are often political appointees. At the lower levels, the hiring process is typical of a government job. An issue of interest here is whether bureaucrats behave better, or more efficiently, under Republican or Democratic administrations.

Branch Mixing

A more recent area of research centers around the work of legislative workers, either Congressmen or staffers, later going into the bureaucracy. It has been noted by scholars such as Peter Woll that powerful legislative figures often "place" staffers throughout the bureaucracy. An area of research here could examine whether this is in fact true, and what are the implications for bureaucracy.

Hume's empiricism

Perhaps the most important aspect of Hume's thought for modern philosophy is his empiricism. Hume's empiricism is captured most clearly in his distinction between our impressions, our “lively perceptions, when we ...