Bureaucracy and Democracy: Accountability and Performance

Given the influence of public bureaucracies in policymaking and implementation, Steven J. Balla and William T. Gormley assess their performance using four key perspectives―bounded rationality, principal-agent theory, interest group mobilization, and network theory―to help students develop an analytic framework for evaluating bureaucratic accountability. The new Fourth Edition provides a thorough review of bureaucracy during the Obama and Trump administrations, as well as new attention to state and local level examples and the role of bureaucratic values.

Steven J. Balla is associate professor of political science, public policy and public administration, and international affairs at George Washington University. He is also a research associate at the George Washington Institute of Public Policy, and a member of the International Working Group on Online Consultation and Public Policy Making.

William T. Gormley Jr. is University Professor and professor of government and public policy at Georgetown University. He is the author of several books, including Organizational Report Cards, with David Weimer and Everybody’s Children: Child Care as a Public Problem.