1. The Bureaucracy
Chapter 12

2. The Constitution and Bureaucracy
 Bureaucracy
 An organization that is structured hierarchically to carry out
specific functions
 A common view
 The Framers did not intend and had no role for a bureaucracy
 The Framers didn’t say we need the CIA, FBI, IRS, or DARPA
 They were never intended at the time of the Constitution
 Is this correct?

3. The Constitution and Bureaucracy
 Informational Function of the Executive Dept.
 Article 2, Section 2: “[the President] may require the Opinion in
writing, of the principle Officer in each of the executive
Departments, upon any subject relating to the Duties of their
respective Offices”
 What we know
 Executive Departments are established
 Heads of Departments offer opinions to the president
 They have duties, but they’re not defined in the Constitution

4. The Constitution and Bureaucracy
 Appointment Power
 Article 2, Section 2: “…the Congress may vest the Appointment
of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President
alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments
 Does the lack of mentioning specific executive departments
mean that the Framers didn’t want (or think) any would be
necessary?

5. The Constitution and Bureaucracy
 Federalist #72 – “The administration of government, in its
largest sense, comprehends all the operations of the body
politic, whether legislative, executive, or judiciary; but in its
most usual and perhaps in its most precise signification, it is
limited to executive details, and falls peculiarly within the
province of the executive department”
 Aspects included
 Foreign negotiations
 Finance
 Application and disbursement of the public monies
 Operations of war

6. History of Bureaucratic Efficiency
 Patronage System (1829-1883)
 Members of winning parties typically would appoint their faithful
constituents to government offices as a reward for their support
(and monetary contributions)
 Andrew Jackson -- “To the victor go the spoils”
 Connected to political machines
 Strengthened parties
 Attracted more constituents
 Functioned as a tool of political control
 Still exists in some major cities

7. History of Bureaucratic Efficiency
 Civil Service Reform: The Pendleton Act (1883)
 An act that established the principle of employment on the basis of merit and
created the Civil Service Commission
 Competitive exams for federal positions
 No dues-paying
 No campaigning for federal office (Hatch Act of 1939)
 No firing simply for political reasons
 Civil Service Problem
 De-politicization = insulation
 Difficult to hire and fire
 Overall – can the federal bureaucracy be efficient without politics?

8. The Modern Bureaucracy
 Types of Agencies
 Administrative agency
 Federal, state, or local government unit established to perform a specific
function; typically used to enforce and administer specific laws
 Independent executive agencies
 Agency that is not part of the Cabinet but reports directly to the president
 CIA, NASA, EPA, SSA
 Independent regulatory agencies
 Agency outside the major executive departments; charged with making and
implanting rules and regulations
 FTC, Federal Reserve System, FCC

9. Bureaucracy as a Modern
Organization
 Weberian model – model of bureaucracy developed by the
German sociologist Max Weber, who viewed bureaucracies as
rational, hierarchical organizations in which decisions are based
on logical reasoning
 Fixed and official jurisdictions
 Clear distinction between superiors and subordinates
 Management based on written documents
 Management presupposes training (and/or education)
 Managing the office (department) is a full-time job
 Management by a set of rules
 Technical superiority leads to advancement of bureaucracy

10. Bureaucracy and Business
 Government Corporation
 Agency of government that administers a quasi-business enterprise
 Tennessee Valley Authority, U.S. Postal Service, FDIC
 Two approaches to governmental influence/interference with
business:
 Nationalization
 Takeover of a business by the national government
 Ex. FDIC buying out a defaulting bank; the “great auto crisis” of 2008-09
 Privatization
 Replacement of government services with services provided by private firms
 Ex. County prison systems; Blackwater security contracting in Iraq

11. Bureaucrats and Policy
 Dated theories of public administration hold that bureaucrats do
not make policy, only implement it
 Modern views hold that agencies play an important role in the
policy making process
 Congress makes a law and someone eventually has to turn it into
concrete action; it’s best to consult with the people/group who will be
carrying out the action
 The bureaucracy’s policymaking role can be depicted as:
 An Iron Triangle (dated)
 An Issue Network (modern)

12. Bureaucrats and Policy
 Iron Triangle (dated view)
 The three-way alliance among legislators, bureaucrats, and
interest groups to make or preserve policies that benefit their
respective interests
 Issue Network (modern view)
 A group of individuals or organizations that supports a particular
policy position on a given issue
 May consist of legislators, staff, interest group leaders, bureaucrats, the
media, scholars, and other experts

13. Theories on Bureaucratic Agencies
 Public Interest
 Regulation: Agencies neutrally follow the missions given to them
 Efficiencies: assumed to be efficient
 Pathologies: missions might be too broadly or narrowly drawn;
resources may be insufficient
 Public Choice
 Regulation: agencies are captured by the very firms they regulate
 Efficiencies: responsiveness to a coalition of interests outside the
agency
 Pathologies: special interest dominate; bureaucrats essentially
become another special interest

14. Theories on Bureaucratic Agencies
 Reputation
 Regulation: based solely on agencies’ reputation
 Military, FDA
 Efficiencies: incentives to avoid errors; responsiveness to
various constituencies
 Pathologies: high risk aversion; aversion to admission of
mistakes
 Administrative justice over public legal disputes

15. Theories on Bureaucratic Agencies
 Example: Why did “unprofessional” military officers dominate
Union Army leadership in the Civil War?
 Lincoln appointed “unprofessional” generals: Nathaniel Banks,
Benjamin Butler, John Fremont, and John A. Logan
 Military schools (think West Point) did not yet have reputation
for expertise and superior training
 This came around the time of the Spanish-American War
 Only in the 20th century do military academies gain superior
reputation within the military, society, and political institutions

16. Theories on Bureaucratic Agencies
 Example: Why did the FDA accelerate drug approval in the
latter part of the 20th century?
 1980-2004: the average drug approval time falls by 60% or better
 2.5 years to less than 1 year
 Public Choice theory: firms had been asking for acceleration all
along
 Reputation theory: political organization of patients upset over
long drug approval times and their ability to influence the media
forced the FDA to respond
 What’s the better choice?

17. Helping Out the Bureaucracy
 Whistleblower
 An individual who brings to public attention gross governmental
inefficiency or an illegal action
 Typically someone who works within the offending agency
 Civil Service reform in the 1970s and 198s encourages state and
federal employees to report employer wrongdoing
 Some statutes offer monetary rewards
 False Claims Act of 1986
 Problems
 Little evidence that whistleblowers actually receive protection
 Over 40% of whistleblowers report that they no longer work for the agency
they reported