Post by Sapphire Capital on Aug 15, 2008 19:49:20 GMT 4
Does Democracy Matter? A Transatlantic Research Design on Democratic Performance and Special Purpose Governments
Chris Skelcher
University of Birmingham - School of Public Policy
Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Vol. 17, Issue 1, pp. 61-76, 2007
Abstract:
The next big step in public management research is to move beyond the question of whether management matters to answer the question: does democracy matter? The public management discipline has largely ignored the impact of democratic structure on performance, partly because of limited variation in the constitutional design of public service organizations. Recent growth in the number and types of special purpose governments offers an organizational population with a wider distribution on the democratic structure parameter. Conceptual and methodological advances in delimiting and measuring "democratic performance" as a function of formal structures and informal practices provide an intellectual infrastructure for scholars. Hypotheses are derived in which democratic performance is either a dependent or independent variable. Differences in contextual variables in the United Kingdom and the United States make transatlantic comparative research a worthwhile proposition. A research strategy for generating knowledge on "does democracy matter?" is set out.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1161785
Chris Skelcher
University of Birmingham - School of Public Policy
Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Vol. 17, Issue 1, pp. 61-76, 2007
Abstract:
The next big step in public management research is to move beyond the question of whether management matters to answer the question: does democracy matter? The public management discipline has largely ignored the impact of democratic structure on performance, partly because of limited variation in the constitutional design of public service organizations. Recent growth in the number and types of special purpose governments offers an organizational population with a wider distribution on the democratic structure parameter. Conceptual and methodological advances in delimiting and measuring "democratic performance" as a function of formal structures and informal practices provide an intellectual infrastructure for scholars. Hypotheses are derived in which democratic performance is either a dependent or independent variable. Differences in contextual variables in the United Kingdom and the United States make transatlantic comparative research a worthwhile proposition. A research strategy for generating knowledge on "does democracy matter?" is set out.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1161785